The Protector's Bond
by KaliAnn
Summary: AU. Ash and his Protector Trina, are exploring the Alola region in their latest journey together. While Ash enjoys school and learning Z-moves, Trina wonders if she is needed anymore and starts questioning her worth. As she tries to answer that question, neither she or Ash, know the danger they're in. Can another Protector fix the bond before it breaks or evil captures them?
1. Moonbeams

_Hello readers, I hope you enjoy this story. This is the first time I've written a Pokémon story that wasn't a crossover with Xiaolin Showdown. That being said, I am taking one character from the crossover series and making her a bit more modern than before. I will cover her backstory and make her fit within the Sun and Moon series, so you don't have to read the other ones. I hope you enjoy this._

* * *

It was nighttime in the Alola Region, and the full moon's light bathed Professor Kukui's house, in its gentle care. In the loft area, slept a fifteen year old kid known as Ash Ketchum. You would never guess by his size and childlike manner that he was fifteen, but then some people never seem to leave behind their childlike joy.

Sleeping in the loft with him, was his beloved partner Pikachu, along with Rotom Dex and Rowlet. They had all had a big day earlier. The three of them, along with Mallow, had been trying to follow their classmate Lillie, who had finally been able to bond with her Pokémon, Snowy the Alolan Vulpex, in her battle against Team Rocket. The three of them had celebrated for a bit before he came back to the house.

Elsewhere in the house, Professor Kukui was asleep with Rockruff sleeping at the foot of his bed, contently dreaming about fighting battles and winning. Even the Luvdiscs in the tank had enter a state of sleep, as their automatic features kept them alive as they swam through the water.

Only one person wasn't asleep and they were in the downstairs lab sitting at the computer, working on a report to send back home to the Secret Valley of the Protectors, located in Sinnoh, a few miles from Eterna City. The young lady paused for a few seconds, listening for any noise of any kind before turning back to the computer screen. She didn't want anyone to know what she was up to at this late hour.

The nineteen year old girl was named Trina Chrysalis. She was a member of the secret group known as the Protectors of the Bond. The Protectors ensured that the bond between humans and their heart bonded Pokémon was protected at all cost. They protected human and their Pokémon, environments under threat, and important historical artifacts. Only the best Protectors, were assigned missions to guard special individuals, who destines had a big impact on the entire world.

Ash was one such individual, who had the most important role of all, being the Heart of the Pokémon World. The Heart was a unique individual, whose life force was connected to energy of the world and all the Pokémon in it. The Heart bonded easily with Pokémon, and could heal the hearts of those who had been hurt. Mythical and Legendary Pokémon respected him as he was their chosen hero. He had several unique abilities and while he pretended he couldn't, he was able to understand and speak Pokémon, though he had trouble with certain dialects. It was up to Trina to protect and teach him how to harness these powers for the greater good.

As for the Protector herself, Trina was very beautiful with her long fuchsia hair that reached the small of her back and matched her eyes perfectly. She wore a fuchsia tank, with fuchsia and black capries held up with a yellow belt with a purple buckle, along with short white socks in yellow and black sneakers. Her accessories included a yellow headband and earrings, black sweatbands with fuchsia trim, and finally a purple pendent and watch.

The watch was actually a communicator/minicomputer. At the moment she had linked it with the professor's computer to send her report without it being traced back to her mini one. You could never be to careful when it came to this job. The Protectors had many enemies who would literally kill for the information in her report. Secrecy and caution, happened to be the tools they used to keep everyone safe.

Leaning back into the chair she started to softly type up the remainder of her report, not wanting to have anyone accidentally stumble on to this. It was imperative that no one except Ash and his Pokémon, not counting Rotom Dex, knew who she really was. If someone, such as Professor Kukui discovered that she was a Protector, then Ash would become an easy target for bad people who would exploit his gifts for their own nefarious use.

* * *

Cracking her fingers, she picked up where she had left off. "As stated previously we've only been in the Alola region for a few weeks, but already Ash's powers are growing and I fear they might overwhelm him. Since the battle in Luminous City against Lysander and Team Flare, he briefly expanded the power of his Bond Phenomenon with not only his Greninja, but the rest of the team, until we left the Kalos region.

I believe the power is dormant for now. I need to do further tests to confirm my theory this unique ability will only activate in Kalos or with Pokémon from that region. If that is true, then it means that this is another way for Ash to help this region should another disaster like this one occur again.

In place of the Bond Phenomenon, it appears that the Z-crystals here, see attachment at bottom, and the ability to use Z-moves has replaced that power and is much stronger than anything previously seen or cataloged during my mission before. Further studies should be conduct at the Valley's lab. I will send a sample once I find one.

The mythical Pokémon Guardian of Melemele Island; Tapu Koko, actually gave Ash a Z-Ring and an Electrium Z crystal. From the moment he received them I knew for certain I was in for a new challenge. I only spoke for a brief moment with the Guardian right before his battle with Ash.

I asked, "Tapu Koko, I'm not sure why you are interested in Ash, but I ask you not to go full force with him, he can't handle it right now."

Tapu Koko responded, "I wish to test the Heart's bond with his Pokémon and friends. Only then, will I know if he's ready for the next challenge. I will not over do it."

The battle was amazing as the Gigavolt Havoc was one of the strongest ever seen. I was the only who noticed the extra power came from Ash himself; unknowingly using his special abilities in the heat of battle. Since receiving the Normalium Z-Crystal from the Totem Pokémon, see second attachment at the bottom, his power has stabilized and he can channel the Z energy more efficiently.

Since arriving here Ash has joined the Pokémon School and has become a model student and is finally utilizing his full intelligence. Before we left Kanto, I learned from Mimey that he sensed a reset button inside Ash's brain activating itself when he learned about the Alolan vacation that Mimey won.

A thorough look in his head during a dream cycle, revealed that someone had psychically placed a mental block in his mind to prevent certain memories from being recalled. The psychic signatures matched Mewtwo. I believe that when Ash encountered Mewtwo in Johto and was allowed to keep his memories of that visit, because of who he is, the two sets of memories clashed with one another, making his mind reset its every time he visit a new region, resulting in most of his memories, skills, and knowledge about Pokemon, becoming unavailable for a time.

With Mimey's help, we managed to remove the block entirely allowing for all three items mentioned above to be fully retained, making the Heart even more powerful than before. I believe this was the catalyst which this newfound power is coming from because for the first time in years, his mind is completely his own once more.

Because of the increase of power and being around so many people all the time, I'm going to increase the time we spend working on our training regimen and prepare for any type of emergency. Hopefully this will get Ash's abilities under control while learning new skills.

I will continue to send updated reports on the Heart, Z crystals and moves, and the cultural history of the region. These will be valuable treasures to protect and care for back home since there has never been a Protector in this region before.

Protector Trina Chrysalis signing off.

* * *

Tapping a few buttons, her message was sent back home. She undid the link between the computers and erased the history and time stamps so Professor Kukui would never know. She got out of the chair and started stretching to work the kinks out of her body. Glancing at her watch she muttered, "Nearly two a.m. I really need to get some sleep soon."

On the floor, a Leafeon got to her feet. She was Leba. She was the heart bonded partner to Trina, sharing their lives together until death. She was a bit worried about her partner. It wasn't like her to stay up so late. "Leaf? Leafeon leafeon leaf?"

Trina smiled as she bent down to stroke Leba's face before tickling her leafy head. "I'm fine Leba. I promise I'll go to bed soon. There's just one more thing I want to do before I go to sleep is all. Can you make up our bed on the couch?"

"Leaf!" The verdant Pokémon ran upstairs to fix the couch for them the two of them. It wasn't the greatest place to sleep. The couch in the loft was much more comfortable than one in the living room area. Leba often wondered why Trina simply didn't ask for a cot or sleeping bag to sleep in the loft. She often slept in the same room as Ash to protect him from any night time threats. However, since their first night here, Trina hadn't pushed the issue.

 _"Trina's been acting so differently lately. She's more subdued and growing less social. We don't practice nearly as much as we use to. I hope whatever is bothering her will resolve itself,"_ Leba whispered to herself as she finally got the pillows and blanket set up.

A few minutes later, Trina came upstairs from the lab. Not even bothering to change, she slipped under the blanket and fell asleep. Leba removed her shoes before settling on a pillow next to her friend. Glancing one more time at her heart bonded human, she let out a yawn and fell to sleep. The moonbeams gently moved on.

Trina scrunched up on the couch and let out a little whimper as she started to dream. Her hands clenched tightly on the blanket. She rolled on the couch nearly falling off. She wasn't just having a dream, she was having a distorted memory dream!

 _Trina was running across the valley to her home, she was so excited. Her parents had finally completed their long term mission in Oree and they be a family once more. "Can you believe it Leba? Both our parents will be waiting for us and we'll be able to catch up and have some family fun!"_

 _Leba smiled happily wagging her leafy tail as they reached the small two story house. Like the rest of the buildings in the hidden valley, several crystals had been placed strategically on the roof. When light passed through the crystals it would partially bend before passing through another crystal until the entire valley was invisible from both the sky and the ground._

 _Trina laughed as she bounced up the new steps and flung open the door. "Mom, Dad, where are you? I can't wait to see you and tell you about what I've been up to!" The teenager looked around, but the house was empty and quiet. It looked like no one had been here in months._

 _"Mom? Dad? Una? Enzo? Are either of you here?" she called out a bit more frantic. She ran into the kitchen, but no one was in there. She opened the cupboards and fridge to find everything turned to dust. "No, no!"_

 _Suddenly she wasn't in the kitchen anymore, she was in the family room, but all the pictures of her parents had vanished. "No this isn't right, there should be picture of all of us right here on the table."_

 _She knelt at the table frantically searching for the picture, but all she came back with was a dusty frame with broken glass. Scooting away from the picture, Trina started opening drawers and looking behind furniture frantic for signs that her family lived here and her parents were not missing. "My mom's journals are gone. Dad's collection of autographs of famous trainers isn't here either. Leba, did you find any sign of your parent's toys?"_

 _Trina expected an answer, but there was silence. Turning around she saw Leba wasn't there anymore. "LEBA! WHERE ARE YOU?" Scrambling out of the family room, she opened doors to all the rooms and closets, finding further signs that no one lived here._

 _She came to the last room, her bedroom. When she opened it she was surprised to find everything as she left it. Her carpet was freshly cleaned, the furniture dusted and polished, and the bed neatly made. Her awards hung from the wall shining neatly. Her closet had all workout outfits and gear. Everything she owned was neatly in place._

 _"Why is my room the only one inhabited?" she asked herself as she walked around the room. She bumped into the dresser and single photo fell to the floor. She picked it up and there was her family. There she was as a young child with her parents smiling at the camera. The Umbreon was sitting next to Trina's mom as the Espeon sat next to her father. The rest of the photo had been altered by her to show Una and Enzo's entire brood and what they had chosen to become later in life._

 _Leba was wrestling with her twin brother Glen whose icy fur glistened under the light. The triplets, Jorgen, Vanessa, and Ember were in battle stances. Esme and Sylvia, looked happy as in the picture they had just evolved into the eeveelution of their choice. Esme took after her father, but Sylvia had taken the hardest path to become a Sylveon._

 _Trina smiled at the photo. "My family all together, even if I had to make the picture myself." The photo caught fire as she dropped. Frantically, she tried to put out the fire. Once it was out, the only thing left of the picture was her face. Once again alone without no one by her side._

* * *

Trina shot up on the couch, panting hard as she wiped the sweat off her face. Her pallor was near white and she was shaking. Leba was on the floor, having been knocked off by her partner's restless body. She walked over and laid her head in Trina's lap. "I'm okay Leba. I just had a nightmare. I'm fine."

Leba did not look convinced and nudged Trina to look on the floor. Trina had to rub her eyes to make sure she was seeing what she was seeing. Glowing pieces of grass had sprouted from the floorboards. The Protector ripped them out of the floor and threw them in the trash.

The sun was starting to rise in the sky. Checking her watch she saw that she had only gotten about four hours of sleep. "Might as well start breakfast for everyone. They're going to need it." She went into the kitchen to start making a meal, while Leba went outside to feed on the sunlight.

The smell of fresh food wavered up into the loft. Pikachu and Rowlett's noses twitched as they woke up eager to get some breakfast. Pikachu started pushing on Ash to wake him up. "I'm up buddy, I up. Oh my, what is that delicious smell?" he asked with drool coming out of his mouth.

"I don't smell anything. Then again I don't have an olfactory sensor," Rotom Dex stated as everyone headed downstairs. Rockruff was yipping in joy as Professor Kukui joined the group wondering what was for breakfast.

Trina smiled as the others joined her. "Breakfast will be finished in a minute. I hope you like what I made. Go sit down, I'll bring you the food, just stay out of the way right now."

Professor Kukui laughed. "I've learned never to bother someone when they're in the midst of making food." He directed the rest of them to the couch. A few moments later Trina came out with a breakfast tray.

"Today's specials include fresh scrambled eggs, waffles covered in mixed berry jam, and your drink is milk with a side of muffins. Enjoy!" she told them as she laid the plates down for the teenager and adult. All the Pokémon looked at her expecting meals. "Don't worry I've got something for you too."

She returned to the kitchen and placed individual bowls on another tray before walking back to hungry little Pokémon. "Alright settle down, I made each of you a special meal today, complete with beans and vitamins to help keep you strong." Leaning down she placed a bowl of food mixed with some Pokémon beans and topped with carbo vitamins in front of Rockruff.

"Rock Types are good at defense, but you should always be able to keep up with your opponent. As for you Rowlett," she said as she flicked his head to wake him up. "I included some vitamins to help with your defense."

She moved onto Pikachu food to help him increase his special defense and to Leba she gave her some food for her special attack. Finally she brought out a tiny bowl for Rotom Dex who looked confused. "I don't eat food, I'm Rotom Dex. I don't need anything to keep going except maybe a recharge once in a while."

"You maybe a Poxedex, but you are also a Pokémon. We still don't know what your capabilities are. If others of you kind can use appliances to battle with and eat, then you should be able to as well."

Rotom Dex looked at the Kukui who nodded in agreement. They still hadn't figured out everything about Rotom Dex, including if he counted as a Pokémon on Ash's team or if he could be caught. Rotom Dex was a unique life form to learn about.

So Rotom Dex took a small bite. The electricity inside him zapped the food and transformed it into electric particles that he fed on. It was a strange sensation and he liked it. "That was incredible. I've never tasted food before! I must update this information!"

Trina laughed in joy before sitting down next to Ash to enjoy breakfast together. He was amazed by what she had just done. "How did you know that would work? Rotom isn't an average Pokémon, I didn't think it needed the same care as my others."

"Not it, him. Rotom Dex identifies himself with male pronouns and chose a male voice to use to speak." Professor Kukui looked at wondering why she said that. "Rotom are genderless. We know this because Attract or Captivate don't work on them."

"Humans and Pokémon can be transgender or intersex, because we do not fully understand Pokémon anatomy or souls. What can appear to be genderless, does identify with a gender, even if we can't always figure it out ourselves," Trina started to explain. She ducked her head under scrutiny.

"Who taught you…?"

Ash quickly spoke up to avoid any more questions being asked. "It's a theory being tested by some science whiz kids in her home town. They haven't published anything yet, but did share their findings so far with the rest of the town."

"An ambitious project. I hope to read about their findings one day. It would completely change the world as we know it." The humans returned to their meal as Rotom Dex reviewed data related to the subject. By the time everyone was finished with breakfast, he agreed with Trina, he was male, not genderless.

As Ash got ready for school, Trina tried to talk some sense into her charge. Ever since they arrived in the Alola Region the teenager had been putting off his training sessions with Trina, too eager to explore this new region and learning to use Z-moves.

"You need to stop blowing our training off. You're letting your control slip and your other abilities are not where they should be. I can't even remember the last time we had a physical spar. Do you really want to be caught off guard if someone attack you when you don't have any Pokémon?"

"It's not like I'll be attack or snatched off the street here. Alola has nearly no crime rate, even the police say so. No one knows I'm the Heart, including my friends. The local team of criminals is nothing except a group of street kids. I can handle myself."

Trina raised an eyebrow and folded her arms together. "Really, you don't need help? I seem to recall that Team Rocket nearly defeated you when you strayed too far from your friends and me remember? What about when you snuck off in the night to help that Litten? You came home with lots of cuts, some looked infected. If I hadn't patched you up, you might have gotten seriously ill."

Pikachu looked up at his partner and gave him a pleading look. _"You know she's right, you haven't practiced or trained with her since you got here. We don't need to work on Z-moves all the time."_ Ash noticed how he could barely understand Pikachu. Once he learned how to speak he could understand perfectly what his Pokémon were saying and have a conversation. Now, he had to strain his ears to catch all the subtle nuances. He was really out of practice.

"Alright, I promise to come straight home from school today, no matter what. I'll train and practice as long as you want."

Trina nodded. "Good, because while you and Professor Kukui are at the school, I'll set up a schedule for us. Have a nice day at school," she told him. Watching Professor Kukui and Ash leave, Trina started preparing for this afternoon.

* * *

As soon as he arrived at school, the group was talking about Lillie and how she was making small steps to allowing the other student's Pokémon to touch her without freaking out. At the moment she was trying to not freak out with Sophocles' overeager Togedemaru rolling around her causing Lillie to get dizzy. Snowy let out a little bark trying to get the electric headhog to stop.

"Come on Togedemaru, you can play with Lillie and Snowy a bit later. We've got some serious data to crunch before class starts."

"I think you may be a little late on that," Kiawe said as Professor Kukui came to the classroom carrying a large book with him. "Alright class, settle down. I know you were expecting that today we talk more about the Island Challenge, but I was inspired by my other house guest to do something different today. We're going to take a look at gender identification and difference when it comes to Pokémon of the same species."

"Other house guest? Oh, he means, what's her name again?" Lana asked quietly.

"Trina Chrysalis, but that's all I can remember," Mallow whispered to her. She remembered the older teen when she gave Ash a tour of the school and that she spotted her a few times with Ash, but they had never had a real conversation.

Lillie leaned in closer. "She came to the estate with Ash when I first brought Snowy's egg home. She's the daughter of a friend of his mom, who she asked to keep an eye out for Ash while he's here in the region. She's nice, but a bit secretive."

"Wonder what she's hiding? If she got the Professor to change his lesson plan, she's got to be super smart," Sophocles added as his eyes literally lit up.

"I don't know what the rest of you are talking about, but it's time we pay attention to our teacher right now," Kiawe hissed to everyone. In the front of the classroom the Professor was smiling waiting for everyone to pay attention to him again.

"Now that I have your attention, I'm going to show you a few examples of gender differences that are easy to spot." He flipped open his book and showed the class pictures of a group of Pikachu, which of course made Ash's Pikachu squeal with delight. Ash hugged him telling his best bud to settle down.

"These pictures were taken in Kanto a few years ago, after scientists were able to get closer to wild Pokémon with camera drones and get better scans and pictures of a group of Pikachus. After reviewing their data, they made an interesting discovery that people had been overlooking for years. Can anyone tell me was that is?"

The students couldn't see it as the picture was passed around. Rotom Dex decided to show a picture of a female next to Pikachu. Finally Mallow raised her hand. "Their tails are slightly different. The female has heart indentation in her tail while Pikachu's tail looks exactly like a lightning bolt."

"Correct Mallow. Another difference, which isn't as clear in the pictures is that the females are smaller and lighter than the males. Why do you suppose that is?"

Kiawe raised his hand and answered, "Usually gender difference are used by males to identify females that are mature for mating. In other cases, the difference could be attributed to who does most of the parenting."

"Those are good answers Kiawe and scientists are currently testing that theory with their research. Now that you've seen a big difference to tell the two genders apart, I'm going to show you another picture, this time the details are subtle so look hard."

It was two Sudowoodos standing next each other and mimicking the local plant life. The picture was circled around the students again. The students still had trouble seeing the differences. "If the picture isn't big enough, I be happy to enlarge it for everyone to see it better."

"Yeah that would really help Rotom Dex. Make it as big as you can!" Ash stated excitedly. As soon as the enlarged picture appeared on Rotom Dex's screen the excitable fifteen year old spotted the difference. "It's the twigs on their heads, the one on the right is much thicker."

"That's correct Ash. Male Sudowoodo have larger antenna twigs. Scientists are confident that the reason for the differences is to show how strong and healthy the males are."

"That's incredible Rotom Dex. Is there a species of water Pokémon that look different from one another?" Lana asked.

"Yes, here's the most famous example is Frillish and its evolved form Jellicent can be found in Unova. As you can see both genders share a general form and have many of the same features, but they are slightly different depending on if the Frillish is female or male.

Despite having obvious differences, they share the same instincts and behavior. Both can become aggressive if something threatens them and they will work as a pair to drive out another pair from their territory. This is an indicator that Frillish might mate for life."

Professor Kukui asked Rotom Dex to settle down before asking Lillie to come up the front with Snowy. The fire type Vulpex that Principal Oak was raising came into the room and stood side by side. Aside from the obvious no one could figure which gender they were."

"Now this is a tough one. A lot of Pokémon have no outward differences to tell their gender apart and that can be tough on a species whose numbers aren't even. The Vulpex population is seventy five percent female, with only a twenty five percent male. Without any outside differences scientists use special machines to scan Pokémon or use moves to reveal gender.

Because a majority of trainers don't have special scanners or Pokémon on them who can use the moves, its best to use your Poxedex to scan it or take it to the Pokémon center where Nurse Joy can easily run tests to determine its gender. Over the last several years, as the scientific community comes to understand the complexity of Pokémon gender and the reasons for differences, one thing has become clear. As partners, we should start addressing out Pokémon with the proper pronouns instead of saying it."

* * *

While everyone else was at the school, Trina had decided to do some shopping. They were running low on food and she needed to pick up some building materials if she was going to complete setting up the training area. She had written a list beforehand and was checking it now.

"Okay let's see, we only need a couple more groceries and then we can start looking for some building materials. We'll need a lot of lumber and some tough bags we can fill with sand. I wonder if they have a weight shop we could browse in."

She went over to lady who sold berries asking if she had any unusual berries, such as pinap, bluk, or razz. "I have a few of those. Are you going to making treats for your Leafeon and Rockruff?"

"Leba is my Pokémon, I'm just taking Rockruff on a walk is all. I'm hoping to make new type of berry juice to give to my friends Pokémon and see if they like it," Trina explained as she paid for the berries and offered a tip.

The lady smiled and told her that she didn't have to. "Is there anything else I can help you with dear? You appear to have something on your mind."

"Do you know a place I can get some building material and exercise equipment? I really need to find them soon or I can't set up my training area. It's for my friend Ash."

"Oh the nice boy who helped Litten that one time it was seriously hurt. A very caring individual. You must be a very good friend if you want to help build a training area to help the two of you get stronger."

Trina blushed at the kind words about her for a change. The old lady directed her to a store a few blocks away where a retired fighter sold exercise equipment and building materials to help create different types of training areas.

The owner noticed her right away. He could tell by the way she carried herself, even with bags of groceries, that she was fighter. "Alola, what can help you with today?"

"I was hoping to purchase the items on my list here. I'm planning on building a training area." She handed it to the owner who looked over the list of materials mentally calculating how much it would cost and which would be the best to use. "Do you have a design in mind for this training area?"

Trina nodded and showed him another piece of a paper. The design called for two different obstacle courses, a battle stage, along with an indoor area for the exercise equipment. There were areas to rest and even an aid station. A sparing area for humans was a little different, however the benefits of physical training would help trainers keep up with their Pokémon. All of it would be fenced in with a short wall to allow some privacy.

"This is an ambitious plan. You've got every single detail to scale. I also can see that you took the time to really think about what you wanted and how it would help, but humans and Pokémon to get stronger."

She blushed again and said thank you. The owner agreed to lend her his Machamps to carry the building supplies and help her with the construction of the area. When she asked how much extra that would cost he assured her she only needed to pay for the supplies. His Machamps loved building training areas.

The rest of the morning was very busy as Trina and two Pokémon assisted the Machamps with building the training area. Leba was bringing a bucket of nails to one of the Machamps as Rockruff carried some rocks for the wall.

" _Isn't this great. Once this place is finished, Trina will finally have a place she can practice sparring again. She's one of the strongest fighters I know."_

" _Really? She's seems like a strong fighter and would win most of the time against humans. I doubt she could handle a Pokémon though."_

" _Don't count her out. Back home, she regularly sparred with different Pokémon and I don't mean just the Fighting Type. She would take on different types except Fairy, since most of them live in Kalos,"_ Leba remarked as she dropped of her load. Rockruff quickly did the same chasing after Leba wanting to know more.

" _Has she ever fought a Fire Type before? What strategy did she use and did she win any human vs Pokémon spars?"_ Rockruff asked eagerly. Another battling session at Clawmark Hill was coming up and he wanted to be strong enough to defeat a particular Magmar.

Leba stopped walking and sat down looking at Rockruff. She could feel his desire to be stronger and win. She had heard about the fights at Clawmark Hill from some passing Pokémon. Leba wasn't interested at first, but if she went there to support Rockruff, then perhaps she could have fun.

" _She's battled a few Fire Types including a Typhlosion and a Heatmor. She even once took on an Infernape. You have to understand though that Trina is allowed to wear a special uniform when she fights against different types to help minimize injury to herself."_

" _I figured that would be the case. So did she win her spars against the Pokémon you mentioned?"_

" _She wins eighty percent of the time, loses fifteen percent of the time and five percent end is a draw. She won the spar with the Heatmor while ending up in a tie with Typhlosion. She was defeated by the Infernape. That was one of the toughest spars she was ever in. She got burned up a bit and had to spend some time in a hospital before she was ready to go back to sparring. Thankfully, the suit prevented the fire, from scarring her."_

" _Your partner sounds amazing! Can I join in when you start training this afternoon?"_

" _I don't see why not. After all a Protector never misses a chance to improve an individual skills to survive."_

" _Yes! Let's finish building this place so we can spar today!"_ With renewed enthusiasm, the two Pokémon went back to work helping the Machamps finish their work, so that everything would ready, by the time Ash came home. Half an hour before school was to let out, the entire project was done.

"Thanks again for all your help. I really appreciate it!" Trina told the Machamps, who smiled in delight, before heading back to the trainers store. She surveyed the area. It was exactly like the training areas back home and it would be easy to maintain with Alola's climate. She was eager to get started.

"Ruff! Rockruff, ruff, Rockruff!" Rockruff was wagging its tail and looking up at her with excitement. He looked ready to tackle the entire training area right then and there. He really wanted to get in a good workout before the next fight club meeting.

"I know you want to get started Rockruff, but first thing we need to do is stretch to get ready. You can join in with us after he's done stretching as well." A quick glance around to make sure no one was around before pressing her pendent. There was a small flash and instantly Trina's clothes turned into her red and black training clothes.

She took her stretching stance; her feet shoulder width apart and her knees bent. Next to her Leba and Rockruff copied her stance the best they could. She bent forward with her hands on her knees. Leba moved slightly so her leafs were covering her front knees. Rockruff fluffed up his fur.

The next step was for each of them to round their back with the shoulders curved forward. They each took a deep breath before the next step. They then arched their backs and rolled their shoulders backs. They repeated that exercise five times before they were loose enough to start training.

Checking her watch, Ash should be back any minute so she decided to get some water to cool down a little and waited. After ten minutes Ash still hadn't arrived. "He's just a little late, he'll be here. He promised me."

* * *

When another ten minutes passed she walked out of the training area and headed to the house. Maybe he was waiting for her there. Trina went inside checking each room and even going back down to the lab, but no one was there. She even looked for a note with no luck. Now she was getting anxious.

"Where is that boy? I hope nothing bad happened to him," the Protector whispered to herself. She bit her lip, wondering if letting him walk home from school by himself had been the right call. She felt somebody pawing at her leg.

Leba held out Trina's travel bag urging her to take it. "You're right Leba. We need to go find him. Rockruff, could you stay here in case he comes home?" Rockruff nodded and said he would howl to alert her if he was back at the house.

"Thank you. Come on Leba we have a missing person to find." Leba nodded as the two took off to the Pokémon School. Walking the path to the school Trina wondered if Ash had to stay after school for an assignment and didn't have a chance to tell her.

When she reached the school, she took a deep breath before entering the campus. It appeared deserted and she didn't see anyone. "Let's search the building okay. He might still be here."

Trina took the upper levels checking the classrooms and offices. Leba hunted through the different activity rooms and storage closets. Nothing, there was no sign of Ash anywhere.

With no sign of Ash, the duo started checking every place they could think of he might be at. He wasn't at the beach or in town. She checked the forest. She even checked his friends' homes, though that took a while because she didn't have an exact address for most of them.

"If you count the time we waited with the time we searched, it's been almost three hours. Where could he be?" She slumped on the street, tired and hungry. "It should be taking this long. We're supposed to be in tune with one another, so if we're separated we can find each other."

"Leafeon. Leaf leaf Leafeon." Leba licked her friend. She suggested they take a break. There was a small restaurant just up the road. They could get a small meal and something to drink before continuing their search.

"It would be nice to eat meal prepared by someone else. I haven't really had a chance to do so yet. Being cooped up in the house most days, because I'm too old to go to Pokémon School or be invited along on their field trips, doesn't mean I can't treat myself once and awhile," Trina reasoned.

Pushing herself up to her feet, they walked the short distance until they came to the Aina's Kitchen. She took a deep breath smelling delicious food. Leba looked excited. "Leafeon Leba!"

"I agree, the smell is wonderful and I am sure they have special food for Grass Types." Excited they both entered the restaurant eager for a meal. What they saw when they entered shocked them.

Sitting at a table with all his school friends was Ash. He was chatting happily with his friends, while the Pokémon were all eating together. Judging by the amount of dishes and how relaxed they were it was apparent they had been here for a while.

* * *

Mallow was the first to notice her. "Hi, welcome to Aina's Kitchen. If you'll have a seat, I'll bring you a menu. We even have one for Pokémon."

"No thank you. Suddenly I'm not too hungry," she hissed loudly. Ash posture shot up and suddenly Ash's Pokémon tried to look small and unimportant. If looks could kill, Ash would have been incinerated the moment, he met Trina's eyes.

At least he looked guilty and ashamed. "Hi… Trina. What are…you…doing here?" Seeing how angry she was he slid down a bit in his chair.

"Looking for you and guess where I found you, where you're _not_ supposed to be! You _promised_ me that you would come straight home for our special training right after school. Instead I find you here breaking your promise." Trina folded her arms across her chest, taking a few steps closer.

Ash started to respond only for her to continue on. "Do you know that I spent all morning and most of the afternoon not only doing all the chores in the house, but I also went shopping and bought all the supplies, for building the training area. That I put my sweat and blood into this project so it would be ready when you got home?"

"I… I mean…"

"When you didn't show up, I got worried that you might be hurt. I searched for almost three hours looking everywhere for you. Rockruff is back at the house waiting to see if you come home so he can alert me that you're there. Do you have anything to say to me?"

"Leafeon leaf leaf Leafeon!" Leba growled at Pikachu, Rowlet, and Rotom Dex reminding them they had also been there when Ash made his promise and they should have forced him to come.

"Pika pika Pikachu."

"LEAFEON! Leaf leaf leaf!" The other Pokémon backed away from the three, not wanting to be near them if Leba unleashed an attack in the midst of her anger.

Ash rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her sheepishly. "I forgot. We talked about gender differences in Pokémon today and we wanted to see if we could find any or be able to distinguish between the two genders. We worked up an appetite out there so we came here to eat."

Trina's eyes twitched as she walked right over and towered over Ash. "Forgot? You _forgot?!_ How could you forget? I mean, you forget about certain things like times of events or needing somethings sometimes, but you never forget promises."

Ash slid out of the chair and stood up. "I'm sorry, I really am sorry. We can train tomorrow. I won't forget again."

"Yeah we could all come over and train. It would be nice to see what kind of training ground you set up," Mallow said, her Bouncesweet voiced her joy. The other Pokémon looked interested in this new training area to practice in.

"I would like to observe your training methods to gain new data," Sophocles informed her. Observing different training methods would help him formulate the perfect training style for each trainer and their Pokémon.

Trina looked at the others and shook her head. Their offer was kind, but if they saw what was going on her cover would be blown. "It's not training with Pokémon or Z-moves. It's a specialized training for certain talents Ash has. Talents you've been neglecting, may I remind you?"

"I haven't exactly neglected them, I just haven't been doing a lot of work with them lately. There isn't a lot of time." He chuckled nervously as Trina threw her arms up in exasperation.

Kiawe tapped Ash's shoulder and spoke. "You know Ash, I have a busy schedule also. I have to work my family's ranch, go to school, and train. It's a lot of hard work, but I make sure to manage my time so I still have room for fun. Maybe I could help with your schedule."

"If you told us what kind of talents you need to practice, maybe we can help during recess at school." Lana added quietly. She was curious about what special talents Ash had.

Ash squirmed before muttering something about that the training had to be done in private if he was to make any progress. He also side stepped explaining exactly what those talents were.

Trina was still upset and angry. "I can't believe the way you've been acting lately. We've traveled through Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos together and you never fell behind like this. You used to enjoy early morning training with me, now all you want to do is sleep in or practice Z-moves."

Lillie spoke up and suggested that Trina join them in their after school activities. That way she could train Ash anytime she felt like it. "You can visit my estate again. I know Hobs would enjoy battling against you and Leba. We could go to events and festivals together if you want."

Trina looked away as her fingers dug into the palms of her hands. She wanted to participate in events or join them as Ash added new members to his family, but a Protector couldn't do that. Protects had a mandate that allowed them only to have their heart bond partner or train the Pokémon back home until their special person came along.

As for festivals and events, her mission was to protect Ash and she couldn't do that very well if she was competing against him. The other problem was again exposure. The Protectors of the Bond might be a secret group, but they had dangerous enemies. They knew what to look for to identify a Protector.

"I appreciate the offer Lillie. Leba does as well. My family has certain rules about entering events or attending festivals. That was the reason I didn't enter the Pokémon Pancake Race, but watched it in the stands."

Now all the Alolan kids were staring at her and wondering what kind of person forbids their kid from participating in events. They obviously trusted her enough to let her go on a journey and watch over Ash. What was the story behind them anyway? Something about the way they interacted was different than just being family friends.

"We're in Alola Trina, its paradise here. I have a chance to be normal for a while. I can go to school and explore the region at the same time. I have friends to hang out with and not worry about them leaving at some point in my journey. Don't you understand that?" Ash demanded angrily.

Both Pikachu and Leba tried to push their trainers apart. They could sense something bad was about to happen, but neither trainer budged. "Why wouldn't I understand that? Don't you think I've been craving something like this forever? Before we met I only dreamed about doing the things we've done together."

"That's right, together. I just want some time and space to myself. Just because you watch over me doesn't mean we have to spend all our time together. We can have separate lives too you know."

"You know it's not that easy, especially with your talents. We're supposed to look out for each other. I'm suppose make sure you avoid trouble. I just want you to be the best you can be." Trina paused, taking a deep breath and clutched her sides. "Please, stop acting like you're the only one that matters."

"Stop lecturing me! You're not my mom or my sister! You just a person doing me a favor!" Immediately Ash wanted to take back what he said. Trina looked devastated by what he said. Even Leba's jaw was dropped and Pikachu couldn't believe those words left his trainer's mouth.

Shedding tears, Trina ran out of the restaurant very hurt by what he said. How could he say those things to her? Did their bond meaning nothing to Ash? Why was she continuing to suffer in silence by a pain that ran deeper than any physical injury?

She didn't hear the group of friends ganging up on Ash for his behavior. Nor did she notice someone peering out at her from the bushes across the street. Said person watched her running away, an evil grin on his face.

* * *

By the time she got back to the house she was mentally exhausted. She was crying and didn't want to talk to anybody. Hearing her arrival, Rockruff ran outside to greet her only to take a few steps backwards realizing she was not in a good mood.

 _"What happened? Did you find Ash? Is Trina okay?"_

 _"She found him and he forget about his promise. He said some hurtful things to her. I don't know why, he's usually not that rude. They have a lot to work on since we'll be staying here for a good while. If they don't, then I fear that their bond might break."_

 _"Anything I can do to help?"_

 _"Perhaps, is there a battle session tonight?"_

 _"I don't know, but if there is one, why don't the both of you come? I think I can convince the Lycanrocks to let you two join. At least I might be able to."_ Nodding the two Pokemon headed inside to eat. _  
_

Professor Kukui noticed later that night the friction between his two house guests. Ash had come home a little late and had tried to apologize for something he said earlier, but Trina turned her back on him saying, he had said enough to her for the day. She grabbed a hammock and stalked out of the house declaring she would be sleeping that night in the training area _she_ designed.

As the door slammed Professor Kukui closed his eyes and counted to ten. "What is exactly going on between you two? This morning you two seemed to be getting along fine and now she doesn't want to do anything with you."

Ash flopped down on the couch and hung his head low. "I broke my promise to her. I was supposed to come home right after school so we could do some special training on some unique talents I have. She spent most of the day setting it up and she came looking for me when I didn't come home. When she found me at Mallow's she was very upset and angry."

Kukui remarked that while Ash forgot some things from time to time, promises weren't one of them. Ash nodded his head telling the Professor that's exactly what Trina had said. Looking down at the ground he admitted that he said things to her that he didn't mean.

"I don't know why I said the things I said to her or acted like a jerk to her. I got a serious tongue lashing from the others about my behavior. I checked out the area she set up. It's amazing. I can't believe she set that up with a little help in one day."

Kukui nodded. He had investigated why there had been so many footprints near his house and was surprised by the advanced training area. It was a true labor of love. It must have hurt Trina deeply when Ash didn't show up for the training.

"So what can I do to fix it? You saw me. I tried to apologize and she didn't want to listen to what I had to say."

"I think she just needs a little time and space. She's obviously upset and is too angry right now to listen. I'm sure in a few days, you'll two have worked out things between you." Ash hopped he was right.

* * *

Later that night, Trina was rolling around in her hammock trying to get some sleep when she was awakened by Leba. "Ugh girl what is it? What's going on?"

"Leba! Leaf leaf Leafeon!"

"Really, are you sure? I don't want Rockruff to get into trouble."

"Leaf. Leaf le Leafeon!"

"Well if Rockruff is sure he can get me in, I guess a good spar will help get rid of all this stress and tension. Let me grab my shoes."

Rockruff lead them to Clawmark Hill. He saw everyone was there waiting to begin. Barking loudly he got the attention of the Midday Lycanrock and the Midnight one. He approached them cautiously and started talking to them. Both listened closely as he explained what was going on.

At first the two Lycanrocks appeared to be furious. Not only had he brought a captured Pokémon to their wild training grounds, worse he brought a human with him! Both of them wanted to teach Rockruff a lesson when he pleaded at them to just meet with the two. He would gladly accept any punishment then. Both of them howled for the uninvited guests to appear.

As Trina and Leba appeared, the both walked straight and tall. Even with the growls and jeers as they walked through the wild Pokémon didn't deter them from meeting the Lycanrocks. She stood her ground and looked up at them with Leba standing loyally next to her.

The two Lycanrocks growled and howled at her, wanting to see what she was made of. When the Midnight Form called her a waste of flesh she snapped, "Hey there is no reason to call me names. I may not have fur as tough as rocks, but I am smart, physically strong, and quite capable of taking hits and still going on."

Seeing the shocked expression on Midnight's face Leba spoke up. _"Trina can understand the Pokémon language and speak a bit of it. She really has a talent when it comes to certain dialects."_

 _"Interesting, your trainer has a remarkable talent,"_ Midday remarked. She turned her attention to the human girl again. _"You can understand us, then you know what we do here. Why do you wish to fight with us?"_

"Back home, I would spar with the Pokémon to become stronger and to better understand them. I know I have a disadvantage and that I'll need to use my protective gear to prevent serious injury," she replied curtly. Eyeing both of them she stated her reason for coming that night. "Tonight, I just really need to spar because I'm angry and upset. I rather have an opponent who will fight back against me then destroying a habitat."

The two debated for a bit, but agreed to allow her to fight if she fought one of them while the other fought Leba. If she and Leba won, they could come back, if they lost they would be banished and Rockruff would receive a punishment. They agreed to the terms.

Trina activated her protection suit against rock types and Leba got into her battle stance. All the Pokémon stepped back. They were all eager to watch this match. With a howl the fight was on.

Leba immediately dodged as Midday came after her with Accelrock. Leba jumped up to one of the pillars and released a Magical Leaf attack that hit dead center on the Midday forms back weakening it considerably.

Not to be deterred Midday unleashed Rock Throw. Leba dodged about, but ended up getting a glancing blow to her shoulder. It didn't hurt that bad, but it did slow her down. Ignoring the injury the two females continued to clash over and over again.

Meanwhile, Trina just stood there waiting out Midnight. She knew if she attacked first, she would be hit by Counter and that would hurt a lot. As long as she was patient enough, eventually Midnight would make a move, due to its aggressive nature and thinking she was a weak fighter.

After a few more minutes, Midnight attacked using a huge Rockslide on her. In seconds she noted the speed and the pattern of which the rocks appeared. A normal human couldn't have kept up with them, but then again she was no ordinary human. She dodged left and right, even rolling forward to avoid the attack. She sensed Midnight coming in for a Crunch attack, so dropped down avoiding the attack before spinning and delivering a kick to the back.

It threw Midnight off balance, but he activated Counter, pushing her back and damaging some of her suit. Pounding the ground Midnight unleashed his devastating Stone Edge attack. He expected to see her flying, but again she surprised him.

Trina had grabbed hold of one of the glowing rocks as it pushed itself through the ground and carried her above the battle field. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Leba activate her Protect as Midday unleashed her Rock Tomb. Leba called out a warning as the Rock Tomb attack came at her and Midnight.

Pressing herself up against the rock, she watched as Midnight got hit with the attack. Of course it barely hurt him, but he was disoriented for a few second. She dropped down on him and wrapped her arms his chest pinning his arms to the side. Midnight thrashed about trying to get her off while Midday used Howl to raise its attack power as Leba did the same with Sword Dance. Both Trina and Leba didn't need to talk to know what to do next.

Leba met the incoming Midday form, who was once again using Accelrock. Leba leapt over and used Grass Knot to tie up Midday, but thanks to Midday's momentum kept going through the air.

As she approached, Trina used the weight of her body to swing and stand on the ground before releasing him for a second. Midnight tried to straighten up. The Protector shoved him with all weight sending him tumbling right into the path of Midday. They both hit each other hard enough to knock theselves out. The newcomers had successfully defeated them.

The wild Pokémon couldn't believe what they had just seen. Incredibly, a human had kept up and managed to defeat her opponent with her partner without communicating a single word. The two Lycanrocks admitted defeat and said Leba and Trina were worthy of training her.

"Thank you for this honor. I promise I won't abuse it." As she bowed to the two Pokémon, she smiled feeling like her old self once more.


	2. Sunrays

The next few days passed without Trina speaking to Ash. Both he and Kukui noticed the scrapes and bruises, she had when she would come into the house in the morning, to prepare breakfast. Kukui asked about her injuries, but she refused to speak about them, only saying that she was part of a sparring club. Only when Rockruff started disappearing and coming home with similar injuries, did Kukui decided it was time for an intervention.

It had been a week since the Protector and the Heart had their squabble. Trina was in the living room playing a card game called Speed, with Leba. It was an intense match as both females tried to empty their piles fast enough before slapping their hand/paw over a deck declaring themselves the winner.

"I'm going to win, you can't beat me!" Trina informed her Leba. She only had two more cards to get rid of and she was going to win. Leba grinned at her and laid down her two on an ace and slapped her paw on the deck, "LEAFEON!"

Trina face flashed with annoyance. "You win again. One more game?" Leba yipped in delight. Playing games with Trina was always so much fun. She waited patiently for her heart bound human to finish shuffling the deck.

"Trina," Professor Kukui said to gain her attention. She turned to look at him with a questioning look. "I'm going out for a nighttime stroll on the beach to observe the behavior of nocturnal Pokémon. Do you want to join Ash and me? It could be a lot of fun."

Trina thought about it. "Not tonight, I was thinking of turning in early tonight after I finish this game with Leba. Maybe next time." Professor Kukui and Ash left the house as Trina got back to her game.

A few minutes later Rockruff came barking inside at them. It was time for another training session on Clawmark Hill. A rush of adrenaline went through Trina as she anticipated the fierceness of the fights. They made her feel alive and forget her problems. "Let me grab my med kit and we can go. I can't wait to see who my partner is tonight."

The three of them raced off into the forest not realizing they were being followed not only by Professor Kukui and Ash, but a second mysterious person who kept himself very far away from the others.

* * *

When the two Lycanrocks declared it was time to battle, the female Midday barked at Trina, assigning her to fight against an Electabuzz. _"You have the first bout, so make it a good one."_

 _"No problem, I'm ready to fight."_ Trina whispered in Pokémon language. Luckily she was to faraway to be heard by Rotom Dex, who was recording everything that was happening. He and the two humans were astonished by what they had stumbled across. Kukui had heard the stories about Clawmark Hill and that it was a natural gym area for Pokemon. He also knew it was a place that the Pokemon considered off limits to humans so he was surprised how easily Trina was being accepted.

Trina got into her stance and waited for her opponent to make the first move. Her opponent trashed talked her, calling her a lowly human. Gathering energy into his fist, the Electabuzz came at her with Thunder Punch. She blocked with her arms as she was pushed back a few feet. Her gear was absorbing most of the attack. That didn't mean she didn't feel some of the electricity zapping her.

Trina pushed back and Electabuzz tripped over a rock causing the Pokémon to fall over. She jumped on top of Electabuzz, using the electricity her gear had stored and hit in the chest with her own artificial Thunder Punch. Hearing a zing she rolled off of him just as he hit himself with his own Iron Tail.

"ELECTABUZZ!" The male was not happy to be hit by his own move. It hurt him causing half amount of damage and lessened his power. "Buzz!" A Thunderbolt shot high in the air and then came down at her.

Trina was moving as fast as she could knowing this attack had a 100% accuracy rate. The Electabuzz wasn't stopping as he launched more attacks driving her in the direction he wanted her to go. The Protector didn't want to go in that direction and tried to move out of the way. She mistimed her steps and took the brunt of the attack, causing a paralysis. She couldn't move.

Taking advantage of that, Electabuzz came at her with both a Thunder Punch and Brick Break. He was going to defeat the arrogant little human in this match and be noticed by the two Lycanrocks leaders. They were the ones who decided who got to fight who. He wanted to move up the ranks. His opponent was down, victory was his.

Trina knew if those two attacks hit, she be done for. Closing her eyes, she focused on her spirit. Her desire to win this spar and prove to herself she was still a capable Protector. Maybe impress Ash once she told him and he would get serious about their training. Two milliseconds later she was free of the paralysis and hopped backwards missing the attacks by mere seconds.

Electabuzz was shocked and worse he had driven his arms so deep in the rock, he couldn't pull them out or use a move because he had no room to charge the attacks.

Trina kicked her feet into his face disorienting him. Watching out for the tail, she struck pressure points causing Electabuzz body to go stiff. He couldn't move or attack, not that his tail was limp. "Electa Electabuzz" the Pokémon spoke up accepting defeat.

The crowd roared and both Lycanrocks gave their nod of approval. Trina accepted the acknowledgement a huge smile on her face. She fetched her med kit and fixed up Electabuzz before settling down to watch the rest of the fights, cheering on Rockruff as he tried to defeat Magmar, but he couldn't get his move off in time.

When the battle session ended some of the Pokémon lined up and let Trina and Leba heal their more serious injuries. They all gave her their thanks and couldn't wait to see her at the next battle session.

The three of them, were walking back laughing about tonight only to stop when Professor Kukui and Ash, along with his Pokémon appeared on the path. They both looked at her confused, awe, or disappointment. The three battlers looked at one another knowing they were busted. "I'm going to have to explain myself huh?"

* * *

Back at the house, Trina tried not to wince as the Professor cleaned her abrasions and put antibiotic cream on them. "How long have you been going to Clawmark Hill to fight? Those are wild Pokémon and I doubt they take kindly to humans interfering with their gym."

"It's only been a week. Rockruff took me there that night I was upset," she explained as the Professor put some ice on her ankle. It wasn't sprained, but she had strained the muscle. "I need to take my feelings out on something and I didn't want to ruin the house or the trees. Sparing let me do that."

"It is amazing that the Lycanrocks even let you join. How did you convince them to let you participate? According to the data, both forms can be extremely violent when their approached by someone who is not their trainer or enter their territory uninvited," Rotom Dex questioned. He was photographing her wounds when Ash pulled him away for her.

"I battled the male Midnight form and beat him. Sparring against Pokémon isn't new to me. I did back home and I always wear my protective gear designed for the each type. I train myself to take the hits and keep going. If I hadn't broken free of the paralysis, I would have accepted my defeat."

Kukui was finishing putting a bandage on the back of her neck, when she announced that. His eyes shot up and jaw dropped. He had heard of fighting type specialist who trained with their Pokémon, but he wasn't sure they always went in a full out fight. Nor had he heard of anyone getting into battles with other types of Pokémon physically. "You're whole town does it?"

Ash butted in. "No. It's a club for trainers who want to work together to get stronger. The sparring portion brings the trainer and their Pokémon closer together as their hearts bind together through mutual respect and trust." He silently pleaded with the universe to have Kukui drop the subject.

Even if it was the norm where she came from this behavior was not acceptable while in Alola. The Professor gave her a stern look. "While you are here, in Alola and under my supervision, I don't want you to go out there and spar. Their wild Pokemon and you can't predict how they're always going to react." Trina started to protest, but Kukui continued speaking over her.

"I don't like seeing you, Leba, or Rockruff coming home injured. One day a fight might go too far and you'll have injuries not even a doctor could treat. I can't stop Rockruff from going, but I can keep you and Leba from going there. Until you've proven I can trust you, you and Leba are not to leave this house at night. It's for the best."

"I can take care of myself Professor. You saw me out there, I battled and won. I'm sure that Rotom was recording the whole thing. Let's watch it and see if I really am weak as you think!"

Rotom did playback her fight. Trina was extremely skilled and her intelligence showed by the way she moved and planned her attacks. Still, she did get hit paralyzing her and nearly being pummeled. Then they watched Rockruff's fight. Both Rockruff and Trina had the same look in their eyes. The fierce desire to be stronger and win.

Ash turned to Trina. "Trina, I know sparing is how you deal with stress and that it makes you feel stronger inside. I just don't think you should be running off and spend your nights doing it on Clawmark Hill."

Trina gave him a look that clearly stated she had no one else to spar or train with if he wasn't going to take his responsibility seriously. Ash didn't like the way she was looking at him and he did want to apologize for his earlier actions and words.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said, but I know my actions can speak louder than my words. Let me train Rockruff, help him learn Rock Throw. I can help him beat that Magmar. If I do that will you stop going to the fights?"

"Pika pika Pikachu."

Kukui was about to remind them that he already forbade Trina from going, when he saw neither of his house guests, were looking let alone hearing anything he was about to say. He was ignored as Trina stated if he could do that and if Rockruff consented to being his Pokémon, she wouldn't spar against wild Pokémon anymore. In turn; he would have to start taking their special training more seriously.

A few days later Ash succeeded in his promise so she accepted his apology. Trina told the group she was happy for the sparring experience, but it was time for her to go back to human fights. The Lycanrocks were sad to see her go and promised she could come back anytime she liked.

Leaving behind Clawmark Hill, she didn't sense a dark presence watching her and looking at a data scan about her. "Hmm, she's a lot stronger than before and her durability has increased. Her body may be get stronger, but I believe her mental strength is going down. Yes, we'll keep watching her, and eventually she'll led us to our prizes."

A hidden Pokémon let out a growl/chuckle, eager to help his master complete his plan. He was looking forward to taking on that snobby little Leafeon.

* * *

It was a new day and since Pokémon School was closed for the day due to some repairs, Trina had taken advantage of that to get Ash focused on his additional training now. The Protector did admit to herself that this was also a bit about getting Ash back for his behavior. She was going to work him to the bone.

Ash and Rotom Dex were attempting to battle against Leba and Trina. This was the first part of their new training. The other's watched in amusement on the porch as Trina scolded Rotom for not ever trying.

"I am a state of the art piece of technology not a battler! I can't fight in this form so you might as well...Hey! Give that back!" Rotom Dex screamed as Leba kicked sand in his view screen as she trotted over to the porch and tossed his beloved Loki wig on top of a sleeping Rowlett.

"You'll get it back, when you prove you can do a move. Now try again! We proved you can eat and we saw you as a regular Rotom before you merged with the Pokedex. We just need to determine what your form type is. Then we can train you in those moves. Now, try again."

"Okay Rotom, let's do it! Try using Shadow Ball!"

Rotom grumbles some more and tried focusing his energy trying to recall what it was like to use moves when he wasn't a Pokedex. There was gathering of plasma, energizing it and then releasing it. So Rotom tried to replicate that feeling.

Something was building up. There was a large crackling of energy. Something started to emerge from Rotom's mouth. Everyone was holding their breath and waiting to see if he would perform a move.

"Come on, come on, you can do it Rotom!" Ash shouted encouragement.

"Keep your power flow steady, you can do this. Try releasing the power not yet, not yet, now!" Rotom tried to release the power only to short circuit. His screen flashed all sort of faces and images and his voice changed rapidly before he sank to the ground and fell asleep.

"Rotom! What the heck happened? He's not dead is here?!" Ash picked up Rotom Dex and rushed him over to the Professor who took a look. "Is he going to be okay?"

Professor Kukui examined the unusual Pokémon and the device before declaring that Rotom had overloaded his software when he tried to use Shadow Ball and that he would be fine once he woke up again. "I'll fix the damage to his body and he'll be up and watching Detective Loki soon enough."

"Thank goodness. Maybe its best if we don't do try battling with Rotom until he's ready."

"I don't know Ash, Rotom seems more interested in data collection and watching TV, then he does learning to fight. If he doesn't want to be defenseless or if he gets out of the Pokedex one day, he's going to need to learn to some moves."

"He's my Pokedex and I've decided he's not going to try that again at least for a couple of days. He needs to rest."

Trina blinked her eyes and wondered why Ash was insistent on Rotom not training. Ash lived for training and for him to be only trainer with a Rotom Dex in his line up would be one more step to becoming a Pokémon Master.

"Then maybe we should start our special training now. We can come back to Rotom in a few days."

"I rather not. I want to stay with Rotom and keep an eye on him." As soon as he said that his Pokémon all gasped at him. It wasn't even lunch time and Ash didn't want to train more? Something was seriously wrong with him.

"Are you sure? We still have a lot of time and Rotom's not going to be up for a few hours." Ash nodded and left her standing outside once again alone. Trina looked downcast.

"Leafeon le leaf?"

"I'll be fine Leba. Maybe now would be a good time to write some stuff down." Leba ran into the house and returned a few minutes later with a small diary and a pen. Leaning up against the house, surrounded by the other Pokémon she started to write.

"Dear Diary, it's another beautiful day in Alola. Ash had the day off from school so it was a perfect chance to train Rotom Dex. I know he has the ability to perform moves, he just hasn't tried. Earlier he tried to use Shadow Ball and it messed up the software in the Pokedex. He fell asleep and is recovering.

Surprisingly Ash, didn't want to continue training despite knowing that Rotom will be fine. While it's not unusual for him to want to look after one of his Pokémon when they get injured, it is surprising that he doesn't want to continue training Rotom after one attempt.

What makes Ash such a strong and powerful Heart is his desire to help others and never give up on them no matter how long it takes to make things right. He cares deeply for both people and Pokémon. His own heart doesn't blind him to the truth that some people are just bad. That they have no redeeming qualities in anyway. Those are the ones who feel his wraith.

I know I'm supposed to be Ash's Protector, but lately I've wanted more than that. I don't want to be explained away as a babysitter basically. Even when traveling together, I never really ended up close to any of our traveling companions or any people we met. I always felt more like an acquaintances with them then actually friends.

Serena was the only exception. She understood me in a way no one else did. Both of us had a front we put on to keep others from knowing how we felt, but when we were alone together, we could talk about anything. I helped her train her Eevee turned Sylveon practice and think up of new moves to perform for showcases.

She was the only one besides Ash that I trusted with my secret of who I was and why I was there. She never told Clement or Bonnie. Instead she helped in different ways. She make special accessories for me or take me on what she called girl days, sometimes just her and me instead of Bonnie.

I was very proud of her when she confessed her feelings for Ash. I think that was the moment he understood romantic love. I hope Serena is learning a lot in Hoenn by competing in Contest. She'll be the next Kalos Queen for sure! Until then, I guess I'm on my own trying to figure out why my bond is slowly falling apart. What could I have done to cause this?"

Closing her diary, she let the Pokémon pile on her giving her the affection and love she was craving. It was wonderful to feel unconditional love and kindness. Knowing she didn't have to do anything to earn it or prove she deserved it.

Sitting up she tapped her watch and the device displayed holographic video clips. A lot of them only a minute. Ash's Pokémon watched in delight as she showed them funny scenes from Ash's other Pokémon. There were images of him being at the work end of his Pokémon's training or ending up in a mess because he moved too quickly. Some even showed him being at the wrong end of Clemet's inventions.

She even showed a recent picture of Ash with all his Pokémon, even the ones he had released. It had taken her weeks to track them all down and for Ash to earn their forgiveness. He promised to start training them all again and would be a kinder and emphatic trainer to the all of them, even the ones who went back to helping others or being free.

"Would you like to meet them Rowlet, Rockruff? I'm going to surprise Ash by requesting his Pokémon from different regions every few days so he can bond with them again and work to make them stronger. It would be fun to see how some of them match up against local Pokémon, don't you think?" Everyone cheered knowing that it would be fun to meet the rest of their large family.

* * *

Later that day, she made her first requests from Professor Oak, who agreed to help her out. He thought her surprise would be a joyful one and help with emotional stability of some of the Pokémon. It was never a dull moment at his lab. He used a code to give her temporary access to Ash's Pokémon so she could take up to five Pokémon for him to train with, so his own roster wouldn't be effected.

It was a few days later. This time, Ash remembered to show up for special training. He also wisely remembered to change into workout clothes. He got a little nervous when he saw his Protector's expression. She was going to work him to his breaking point. "So what's on the training menu today?"

"First, we should a review of what abilities you have so we can see what needs to be worked on. After that, I have a surprise for you." Ash eyes lit up and he started bouncing around asking what the surprise was and she told him that he would have to just wait and see.

The two of them settled into a shelter area practical exams and learning the history of the Heart would take place. Ash took a piece of paper and wrote down everything he knew he could do and rated them one through five. Five meant had great control over this and nearly mastered it. One indicated he really need to work on something.

Trina took the list once he finished writing it to give her personal evaluation to decide for herself if the rating was correct. "I'm glad to see you remembered all thirteen of your gifts. You added a fourteenth one, your Z move capability which does count considering how hard it is to obtain the Z-Ring and perform the moves."

Ash nodded and pointed out that they couldn't really work anymore on the bond phenomenon if her theory about it only being capable in Kalos was true. Besides it was recent training and she wanted to work on older abilities he'd been letting slide.

"I see three things on this list we can work on today. Before we begin, I would like to start with getting you back into physical shape. No offense, but you've been eating too many sweets lately."

When they got to the exercise area Ash eyes widened a bit. There were weights, punching bags, several different exercise machines and open space to work on different exercise such as jumping jacks and toe touches. There were smaller versions for the Pokémon as well.

"I know physical training isn't one of your favorite things. So I decided to bring back some old friends to motivate you." She pulled out two Pokeballs she had been hiding. "Alright time to surprise Ash!" The balls got tossed up and released Scraggy and Primeape.

"Oh yeah it's great to see you both owwwwwww!" Ash got head-butted and punched by the two male Pokémon who were excited to see him and remind him to call on them more often. "I forgot how tough you two were."

Trina explained that they had been working hard at Professor Oak's Pokémon ranch and that both had even learned a new moves, which they would demonstrate later. Right now it was time to get in shape.

Pikachu took to weight lifting with his tail to strengthen it. Rockruff was on the treadmill to increase his speed, and Rowlet was striking the punching bag again and again with its talons at different angles to work on agility.

While Trina cycled and Leba did steps, Ash was assigned basic exercises to do. Any time he started to slack off, Primeape would use Cross Chop sending Ash to the mat forcing him to continue despite the pain. At certain intervals Scraggy would use Feint Attack causing his trainer to lose his rhythm.

 _"Stop being so sloppy! This physical conditioning will only make you stronger! A true champion can take a hit or dodge it, while continuing with their own move,"_ Primeape yelled at his old trainer. " _You need to work harder!"_

 _"Come on you can do this. Push yourself! That's what I did to learn Feint Attack. Come on make me miss, prove you can do the impossible!"_

"This is insane and I am pushing myself! How much harder do you want me to work?" Ash didn't even noticed that he was getting better at hearing and speaking Pokémon again. When both of his Pokémon came at him he switched to a push up so his chest wasn't exposed. Then he quickly jumped up to avoid Feint Attack. He really was getting better.

The next training exercise was blindfolding him and all his Pokémon were blindfolded as she led him to some stations she had set up. One of the talents of being the Heart, was the ability to enhance a person's senses, by drawing on the life energy, of the planet. This special talent had multiple uses.

"Sight is one of the most important senses humans have, maybe the most important. However, you need to be able to rely on other senses if you get in trouble. Which you do often."

"It's not like I seek out trouble, it just happens sometimes." He felt a light slap to the head as she told him to be quiet. Trina informed him he was to slowly enhance his senses to figure out what was at each station. She expected the other Pokémon to do the same, but not reveal what it was if they figured it out first.

So he reached the first station and reached out to touch it only to pull back when he felt the heat on his hand. Touch was not an option in this case. Relaxing his body, he pictured in his mind the flow of life giving energy, (also known as natural energy), that surrounded and filled the planet.

In his mind he found a tiny string and tugged on it gently. A bit of life giving energy entered his body as he directed it to his senses. Enhancing his senses was similar to his ability to use Aura, but the techniques and abilities involved were vastly different. The main difference was the source of energy.

Using aura meant using the essences of life from within his own body or sensing it in others. Drawing one the planet's natural energy was similar to turning on the sink and letting a little bit of water flow. Use too much life giving energy risked damaging the Heart's body and the planet. If he used too much Aura, he could kill himself. Trina had forbidden him from trying to use both at the same time.

Ash was opening his senses more, his sense of smell was getting better and he could hear soft bubbling. He sniffed the air again catching the faint odor of spices. Sticking his tongue out he tasted the air and his enhanced taste picked up on different vegetables.

"I think I know what it is. There's a bowl of freshly made stew with extra spices. Am I right?"

"Very good Ash, you only took two minutes to figure this one out. Before you could do it in five minutes, so you have improved. So let's continue, you have four more stations to visit and this time your ears are going to be covered as well."

At each station, he lost another sense forcing him to gradually pull on the invisible string more. At the same time, he had to be hyper aware of his body to make sure he didn't pull too much. At the last station, he had no senses and the challenge was for him to find a way to use life giving energy to bypass his blocked senses.

Trina was watching him patiently. Waiting to see what he would do. "Come on, you can do this. It's just a matter of focus and belief. Believe you can do it and you'll succeed." Next to her Leba called out some encouraging words to the Pokémon to not get frustrated. Just relax and focus.

Ten minutes went by and nothing seemed to be happening. Just then all the Pokémon started whispering. Primeape got a bit angry, but settled down and agreed with everyone that the final item had to be a bag of Pokebeans, which it was.

After another five minutes Ash gave up. "I can't do it. Every time I try, there's pressure building up in my head and my fingers are stinging." He removed the items from his person. "This is impossible."

Trina looked at him wide eyed. "It's not impossible. Past Hearts have been able to master this skill and use it effectively." Tapping her communicator/minicomputer watch, she brought up pages with some pictures of past Hearts.

"See, Heart Seashell managed to do it. Her enhanced senses let her see the danger of a major tsunami coming to her home, Hamlin Island in the Orange Island Archipelago. Without her ability the entire island would have been wiped off the map."

She showed another Heart, this time from Knot Island, the first one in the Sevii Island chain. This time the Heart was an old man whose enhanced sentences helped everyone find food on Treasure Beach when the town was suffering a shortage of food.

Ash pointed out those Hearts both lived on islands that needed people with enhanced senses to protect them from danger. He was from Kanto where there wasn't that many natural disasters to look out for.

Not willing to get into another argument, Trina told him they were done for the day and they would practice again the day after tomorrow. He yelled excitedly, bowed, than ran off with his Pokémon to show his friends his old teammates. "What am going to do? Are all these minor arguments my fault?"

* * *

The next morning all the students in the class noticed how bruised up Ash was when he walked into class. "Ash are you okay?! Who beat you up?" Lillie asked in concerned voice.

"Ugh those two did. They made me get up two hours early to get in some more physical training," Ash muttered as he slipped into his seat and started to sleep again. Only to wake up as he got head-butted again by Scraggy. Primeape kicked the chair away so the fifteen year old was forced to stand. "Can you two stop that please?"

"Whoa, so these two are your Pokémon?" Mallow asked. Ash nodded and explained that they were from earlier journeys. "I recently regained Primeape. I left him with another trainer to become the greatest P1 Grand Prix champion. We only reunited together about a month and half before I came here."

"Prime, prime ape ape Primeape!" Primeape spoke proudly as he displayed his muscles. Nearby Scraggy, was intimidating the smaller Pokémon with his leer only to back off when he saw the massive Turtinater. Tripping over his pants he fell to the floor. He was shaking a little.

"It's okay Scraggy, everything's fine. These are my new friends; Mallow, Lana, Lillie are the girls. The guys are Sophocles and Kiawe. Nobody's going to hurt you," Ash told him as he picked him up and reassured him. Once his Pokémon was calmed down, he put him on the floor to play.

"I've never seen a Scraggy before, when did you get him?" Lana wanted to know.

"When I was in Unova. I was given Scraggy's egg as a present for helping end a dispute between a teacher and her young students. Scraggy's worked hard while living with the rest of my Pokémon at Professor Oak's lab/ranch."

"So this brings your roster up to five, six if you count Rotom Dex," Kiawe mentioned only for Rotom Dex to tell him not count him as a Pokémon. He was still embarrassed by what happened a few days ago. He rather pretend he hadn't nearly blown himself up.

He was feeling so sorry for himself he almost missed Ash explain that Trina had special permission to carry his Pokémon as her own for a little while. Surprised, he asked why this was and Ash gave a half answer that it was part of the special training he did with Trina. Thankfully Kukui came in and class started, helping Ash avoid questioning.

During break his friends were surprised to see him not practicing with Z-moves. Instead they found him on the track trying to dodge attacks from Primeape and Scraggy. They winced when he tripped and fell on the track. As they got closer it appeared that Ash now had new scratches. How many times was he going to risk his own health while training.

While Lillie tended to his scratches, Ash came partially clean about what he was doing. "Trina's teaching me to defend myself when I'm on my own or I don't have my Pokémon with me to help me out. I'm a bit out of shape so she's trying to get me back into top physical fitness."

"By having your own Pokémon attack you? Is this where you got that crazy idea to train Rockruff with you as the target?" Rotom Dex exclaimed. He started filing that data away to use for his own protection later.

"Not exactly. I've always been a trainer who works right alongside my Pokémon doing everything they do in order to help us get stronger. Trina's the one who suggested that I let them help me with some of _my_ personal training."

"What kind of talents are worth getting attack by your own Pokémon?" Mallow asked curiously. She had to admit to herself, that despite the scratches, Ash appeared to be getting faster and much more agile than before.

"Uh, well we worked on enhancing my senses yesterday. She had set up these stations and took away one sense at a time so I would have to use my remaining ones to figure out what was there. It helps me become more aware of what's going on around me at any given moment."

That was an interesting training method, but hardly one that required privacy. His friends asked more about what kind of things he was training in. Ash was very vague in his answers. He mentioned he was learning to heal or that he was practicing some unusual ways to protect himself.

"Nothing about that sounds too exciting or takes any real talent. Why is your friend so worried about people seeing or participating in your training? What's the secret?" Sophocles inquired. He really wanted to learn what Ash was really doing so he could add it to his data collection

He got really close to Ash personal space when Scraggy Head-Butted him in the stomach, causing him to clutch it in pain as he went down. Seeing her trainer go down Togedemaru used Discharge on the dark/fighting type.

It zapped Scraggy pretty good. The Pokémon let out a shout of anger and was about to attack when Pikachu intervened, scolding Togedemaru and telling Scraggy to calm down. Both Pokémon reluctantly did so.

As Ash helped Sophocles up, he apologized for Scraggy's behavior, explaining that he didn't like it when people invaded his trainer's personal space. The big boned kid nodded before heading to nurse's office to get treated.

"Scraggy, I know your protective of me and Trina's unique training style, but please no more head-butting people okay?" Scraggy nodded promising in the Pokémon language to behave.

"I take it Trina's training are unique and she's doesn't want others stealing her personal style. Is that why she so determined we can't participate with your training?" Kiawe spoke up after few minutes.

"It's a unique style created in her home town. They're very protective of it and I'm one of the lucky outsiders who gained permission to train in it. I add in my own flair so no one catches on to the unique parts."

The others agreed that made sense and promised not to push for more information about his special training or unique talents he was developing. Ash felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulder. He didn't need to worry about people observing his "special talents" and could still be normal.

The next afternoon was more of the special training. This time it was working on a skill that every Protector could do once they reached the zenith in their heart bonded connection. Ash also had this ability, the ability to actually perform two of his heart bonded Pokémon's attacks, by _himself!_

At the target range, Trina was finishing setting up the different targets at different distances. The goal was to hit these targets accurately, but it would not be that easy. The rest of the Pokémon had been enlisted to do whatever they could, within reason, to prevent the attacks from hitting the targets.

"I love target practice! I love the feeling of using the same power as Pikachu. It's so much fun!" Ash told Trina, who smiled to see him excited about training finally.

"Remember, this isn't all about using your attacks. This exercise is also designed to make your brain work harder. As the Heart, your intelligence and ingenuity potential, are still unknown. Some of the past Hearts gained so much intelligence they became renowned scientist with a very unique view on the world."

The two of them started their training together. Trina using Magical Leaf and Ash using Thunderbolt to strike their targets. It took a great deal of focus and adjusting their human bodies to handle Pokémon moves. So it was no surprise that the two didn't know they were being watched.

* * *

A safe distance away, in an out of the way house, the young man who was spying on them chuckled. The afternoon sun plunged the left side of his body into the darkness. The right side showed the person was dark skinned, some spikey maroon colored hair, and a light blue eye with black semi-circle glasses.

The sunlight only reached the upper torso of his chest making it difficult to tell what he was wearing. It appeared to be a long sleeved tailored black shirt with yellow lines on it. The remainder of his outfit remained a mystery.

The young man watched the video feed as his computer ran an analysis on the Protector and the Heart. He compared that the data he was gathering to earlier reports looking at the different measurements. On different tables sat equipment of all kind running tests from different samples ranging from biological to geological.

Looking at the latest data, the young man developed a creepy smile on his face. "Fascinating. The bond between the two is only a little strained. The Heart certainly doesn't give up on bonds easily. It will not be easy to break their bond. Luckily, I know Trina's weakness and can push her in the direction I want her to go."

A soft ping came from one of the machines on the table. He walked over to it and examined the results. The machine had been running a complete DNA analysis on a sample, then comparing the sample to another set of DNA to see if there were any links between them.

The young man was extremely lucky to have had enough of the first DNA sample to run the tests. He had feared the sample was too degraded or there hadn't been enough to run the tests. According to these results his hypothesis had been correct.

"So, I was right. According to these tests Trina does share the unique mutation I've been looking for. She is also the direct descendant of the individual who found the place I'm searching for in the first place. I just need to toy with them both and Trina will be drawn by her ancestral memory to find the legendary place. Perfect."

He rotated between the tables, gathering the latest reports. Seven of the machines were running different mineral tests on different Z-crystals. He also designed his own test to understand the power inside each crystal. It was crucial to the mission.

He was using a powerful scanning device to perform precise crystallography tests to get a full scale 3D model of the crystal structure. Once this model was complete he would run scenarios on some interesting pieces of metal he had collected. Hopefully the scenarios would eventually lead him to the breakthrough he needed to complete his project.

Now that he made progress he just had to satisfy both his superiors and the group they had allied with for the project. The alliance for this project was very tense. Both groups had similar goals, but had different needs to make them come true. Either way, it was up to him to accomplish the impossible.

His private communicator pinged. He frowned slightly, he hated when people interrupted his work. "I have to take this, can you keep an eye on the experiments for me? I don't know how long this will take," he called over his shoulder to a large Pokémon in the shadows who growled pleasantly.

The out of the way house only had a few rooms, but the basement was the perfect place to talk without anyone detecting any transmissions. Turning on the device he saw the screen split in two. On the right side he saw his superior, an older man wearing business attire in the same color pattern of a Luxury Ball, complete with a red and gold headpiece on his head and maroon pendent around his neck.

The left side was dark, but he could still see the outline of a woman with a lot of hair and narrowing eyes sitting in a private office. She had an angry look on her face. "Greetings to both you high esteemed leaders. I am honored to see you High Leader Gorge. It is also nice to see you as well Ms. Lu…."

"Silence! We agreed that my proper name wouldn't be used in any of our communications or transactions. If you must address me, use my code name," the female voice stated sharply.

"Forgive my lapse of judgement. It is wonderful to hear from you again Ms. Maup. I assume there is a reason you've both contacted me. Shall I give you an update on the operation?"

"That would be acceptable. I believe our ally would like an update first Mr. Bluff."

The young man, who was now being called by his last name, nodded and turned to face the woman. "How is your project coming along and what updates do you need?" He adjusted his glasses as he waited for a response.

The woman narrowed her eyes even more as she spoke in a tone that indicated she was not impressed by him at all. "The fragments that you gave me along with your information you had on inter dimensional portals has been a great help. We've been able to restart Project Full and this time I expect us to succeed.

While the artificial body is being grown and developed to withstand the unique environment of another dimension, the fragments are growing slower than I like. Even if they are to fully mature, they are useless. I need those biological samples and that unique energy source you promised to ensure the success of the project this time."

"What about us? We gave you the fragment samples and our information, but you haven't completed your side of the deal. You promised us all eighteen Z-crystals and we only have eight so far, seven are still being tested while young Mr. Bluff here is using the eighth for his prototype.

Without all the data you've collected on the history of Z-crystals our project can't move forward. Until we have everything we need I think it's wise for us to hold back on finishing our service trade," Mr. Gorge added.

"Ms. Maup and Mr. Gorge, please calm yourselves. I haven't even given you my updates and already you're fighting. Allow me to share my latest breakthroughs," Bluff interrupted the two leaders. They both relaxed and waited for him to continue.

"My hypothesis on the both the plate fragments and Z-crystals so far has been proven true. Each requires not only a unique energy source to achieve our objectives, but with the unique DNA I've stumbled across, there's a ninety five percent chance of both our projects will last forever.

We can fully graft the unique DNA into both objects once we have complete the manipulation of the structure and power them up, however the energy needed for both is slightly different, but can come from the same source.

As of right now I have found the one person, who can gain access to the secrete place where the DNA we need is. I must emphasize that any attempt of force or cloning will result in failure. I need a bit more time to manipulate that person into going where we need to be.

I need a bit more time to fully analysis the Z-crystals and the special metal I received from both of you. I still don't fully understand the properties of the metal and until I do, neither of us can move forward.

Once that's complete, I'll make the proper adjustments to the prototype and retrieve not only the DNA samples, but the power source as well. I need just a bit more time and funding to complete my experiments and then Ms. Maup and Mr. Gorge, you'll each have what you need to accomplish your goals."

The lady didn't like hearing that, but knew that her team would need more time to properly grow the plates. If she wanted Project Full to succeed then she needed to be a bit more patient. She was very close to achieving her objective and wouldn't fail so close to the finish line.

"I'll release additional funds into the private bank account I set up for you along with a shipment of the remaining Z-Crystals, but that's the last your getting from me. You have a month to complete your test and get me what I need. You don't want to know what I'll do to you and your group if you fail." Without another word she ended her communication.

Mr. Gorge remained on the line as he spoke to his agent. "How close are you to actually securing our prizes? Without them, this exchange project will be for nothing. We didn't invest this much time and money, to not succeed in our plan against the Protectors."

The young man assured his boss that he had it under control. That the Protector was extremely strong and talented physically, but was no match for him mentally. He would wear her down to the point of desperation. The boss told him not to get too cocky or he'd lose both their prizes. Wishing him luck, he disconnected the call leaving the young man alone once more.

* * *

That night Trina waited until it was almost one before making contact with her home. The distance between Sinnoh and Alola was vast so it took some time to get a connection. At last her call connected and she smiled as she was greeted by two familiar faces, Eva and Luca, the Head Protectors of her home.

Eva was a middle age tanned skin woman with long auburn hair tied in loose braid. She had a kind heart shaped face with a small nose and lovely brown eyes. She wore red robe over her white and black dress. Her own purple pendent glittered on the screen. On her head was a gold circlet with an amethyst gem surrounded by hearts.

Another one was on Luca her heart bonded Lucario head. Unlike other Lucarios he also wore a short red robe and had a purple pendent around his neck. He didn't seem surprised that Trina was calling so late. In fact, he even had a cup of coffee in his paws that he gave Eva to help her stay alert during the conversation.

Eva yawned and took a sip from the cup thanking Luka for his kindness. "You do realize it's nearly one fifteen in the morning right? You should be in bed resting Trina," she gently chided the teenager. She really wasn't angry about the call. She just needed to remind others once in a while that she may be the Head Protector, but that didn't mean she ran on coffee.

"I apologize for the late night call Head Protector. I was just wondering if you heard anything from my parents. Did they call you yet to tell you they arrived safely at their destination? How are Una and Enzo doing? Did they…ask about me?"

It took all of Eva's strength to answer in a steady voice. "I received a brief communique from them, so I know they arrived at their destination. They seemed fine and I could hear Una and Enzo in the background so I'm sure they're fine. Their message didn't contain anything for you. Maybe their next message will."

Luca looked at his heart bound human frowning. It wasn't his place to tell Eva how to handle the situation between Trina and her parents. He was here to support her though he disapproved of giving someone false hope.

Trina gave a strained smile and felt her heart break a little. "Oh I see, well at least they're okay. I know how intense they get when their on assignment. If they call again, can you tell them I love them and want to speak with them?"

"Of course, go get some sleep Trina. We'll talk again at a more reasonable hour. Eva ended the call and could already sense Luca's displeasure. "Don't even say it, I'm still giving them a chance to do the right thing. I'm sure they'll change their minds."

"It is not right to give her false hope Eva. Trina's heart will break more if they don't change their minds."

"Until then, I'll give Trina the hope she deserves. Let's go to sleep Luca. We'll tackle this situation in the morning." The Head Protectors left the communication chamber and headed to sleep, both worried about Trina.


	3. Lively Forest

It was another beautiful day in the Alola region, a perfect day to spend on the beach, having fun and relaxing. Currently, the Heart and the Protector were on the beach, but they weren't talking. The bond between Ash and Trina kept going up and down. At the moment it was down.

At first, Ash had put a lot of focus and energy into his special training to control and improve his powers. His physical training had already made him faster, more flexible, and he was gaining a bit of muscle. He had regained his full ability to understand and speak the Pokémon language. He was even starting to improve intellectually, finally being able to grasp visual concepts, despite being a kinetic learner.

Trina had been so impressed and happy for him. She had heard about his rematch with Tapu Koko at the Pokémon School. While she felt sad and frustrated that she couldn't have been there to witness it first hand, she was proud that Ash had managed to keep his own electrical abilities under wraps, during the intense battle. That's why she had let him go to Treasure Island by himself as a treat.

However things took a dramatic turn around when they encountered Stoutland and Litten once more. It was one of the few times Trina had accompanied Ash after school. She had a desire to meet these two to understand their bond. Upon seeing Stoutland's condition, both knew that the elderly Pokémon was reaching the end of his life. Not even Ash's immature healing powers could stop the natural order.

During the days following Stoutland's death, Trina spent a great deal of her time, while Ash was in school, sharing her own personal pain with Litten, helping him learn to come to terms with his loss. When Ash was out of school they switch and he would talk to Litten about his own training difficulties.

When Litten had joined Ash's team, the Heart was super happy and couldn't wait to train. On the other hand, Trina was finding it harder to hide her own depressive thoughts. Unable to talk about her problems, the two of them had fought once more and now they were on the edge with one another again. Kukui had sent them to the beach to have fun, hoping the two would work through their problems.

* * *

So they were on the beach. Trina was in her one piece purple swimsuit sitting on a towel looking at the ocean waves crashing in the distance. Her expression was distant as if she wasn't seeing what was in front of her. Leba felt sad for her. "Leba?"

"I don't know. I just am feeling a little lost."

"Leba leaf! Leaf leaf Leafeon!"

"I know I can talk to you anytime and it doesn't have to be in English. It was just more fun when you had all your siblings around to chat with. Even your parents were always fun to talk with." Trina sighed again, getting up and reaching into her bag pulling out some Poke balls and walked over to Ash.

"So you feel like going swimming with me? There's tons of Pokémon you've never seen underwater! It think you might like that, if you remember how to have fun."

His words hurt, but she wouldn't let him know that. Instead she put a smile on her face and acted like everything was normal. "I actually do want to go swimming, I just thought it might be more fun with some of your other Pokémon. I switched out Primeape and Scraggy, for some friends of yours."

She tossed the Poke balls in the air and released several of Ash's water types. The perfect Pokémon to train while at the beach and to have fun with also.

Kingler, Totodile, Corphish, along with Buizel and Palpitoad appeared on the beach. Each of them shouted in joy and happiness as they all piled on top of Ash giving him hugs and talking a mile a minute. The Alola Pokémon greeted the rest of their family as Rotom took pictures.

All except Litten who was a little hesitant. He scrambled away and hid behind Trina, unsure about meeting everyone. Leba walked up to him and gave him an amused look.

" _Are you afraid of water types?"_

" _NO! There's just so many of them. They all want Ash's attention and…"_

" _You want Ash to be focusing on helping you learn Fire Fang? Well maybe they can help you. You know for yourself learning from other types is helpful. My younger sisters, Vanessa and Ember? They both evolved into Vapereon and Flaireon respectfully, but they wanted to be super special by learning from each other."_

" _Super special? What do you mean by that?"_

" _With Trina's training and a lot of patience Ember learned how to do Aqua Jet and Vanessa learned Flame Wheel. The impossible made possible. So join everyone and you might learn something."_

Impressed by the story, Litten joined up with the rest of the family and soon joined them in the water. After only a little hesitation Trina joined them; hoping that Professor Kukui was right about a day at the beach helped fix things. Diving into the water, she was determined to have fun.

* * *

Under the water everyone was having a fun time exploring the area. Kingler and Corphish were playing with a group of Luvdiscs showing off their new moves. Kingler's Bubble was now a strong Bubble Beam. Not to be outdone, Corphish used his new Hydro Pump to make a strong current for the Luvdiscs to swim through.

Buizel was enjoying himself as he raced through the water challenging the different water types to races. Totodile was dancing underwater and trying to chomp on Pikachu's tail each time the electric type came up for air. Palpitoad was teaching Rockruff and Litten how to swim better and get comfortable in an environment that put them at a disadvantage.

Leba kept jumping out of the water and trying to tackle Rowlett out of the air to dunk him in the ocean. So far Rowlett was able to dodge her, but he couldn't last forever. On the beach, Rotom Dex watched, still afraid to get wet. Nearby Trina just floated on her back in the water trying to relax. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the smells and sounds of the ocean.

About forty five minutes passed when the Protector opened her eyes. The rolling of the waves had carried her a bit further out then she wanted. As she swam back to shore, she noticed the Heart was having a five way water battle with his Pokémon. The water types were all attacking each other or him. His Alolan Pokémon came to Ash's defense trying to help out. Of course Rotom was filming this.

"Hmm, he would expect a surprise attack from me. Time to see how aware of his surrounding he is." Taking a deep breath, she dived under the water and started swimming towards Ash. She hid behind some rocks waiting for her chance to tackle him.

Litten was swimming next to Ash and started heating up the water a little. The change in temperature caused Corphish and Kingler to dodge to avoiding being boiled. They used their earlier moves to get some distance. They were moving very fast so they didn't sense or even feel when the hit Trina, who was swimming out to tackle Ash, and their weight threw her in the rock. She started to sink and was unconscious.

" _TRINA!"_ Leba cried out as she felt an echo of her partner pain. She abandon her game and quickly swam towards her, the Leafeon's heart pounding as she dove deep and found her Trina. She was unconscious and her right shoulder strap was stuck between some rocks. Leba tried to bite through to free her, but was forced to come up for air. _"TRINA!"_ She dived again and still couldn't free the teenager.

Leba started to dive again only to be pulled back on shore by Litten. Leba fought desperately to get free, but Litten had his jaws locked on her nape. _"You can't go back down! All this seawater is making you sick!"_

Grass Types were strong against Water Types and could swim in both fresh and saltwater bodies. However, too much exposure to saltwater could have a negative effect on their bodies, just like saltwater on a house plant. Indeed the effects could already be seen as Leba's tail started to wither and her body was starting to go into shock. She was starting to feel the effects of salt poisoning.

The water exploded as Buizel came up from the depths with a still unconscious Trina on his back. His floatation neck was keeping them both at the surface as the waves started to get rough. Totodile head popped up on Trina's right side, keeping her in place.

The two Pokémon started to swim for the shoreline, but the current was getting stronger. Out of the ocean popped Ash on the back of Palpitoad who was swimming as fast as he could to get his trainer to the shore. Behind them Kingler and Corphish were trying to keep the waves back so they could get to safety.

* * *

Finally everyone reached the shore. Trina was unresponsive as Ash remembered to tilt her head to the side to let the water flow out of her mouth. He checked her pulse and could feel it faintly. She was also breathing slowly and he didn't know what to do while waiting for Rotom to come back with Professor Kukui. He just knew he had to do something.

"Pika pika chu chu. Pikachu!" Pikachu warned Ash against using his fledgling healing abilities. He still didn't have a good grasp on them. Healing scratches, bruises, and cuts were one thing. Trying to heal someone who might have a concussion was different.

Nevertheless, he parted her hair until he saw a deep cut on the back of her head, mostly likely from the rocks she hit. It was still actively bleeding. "If I can slow down the bleeding, it should improve her health. I hope this works."

Holding his hand just above the cut he pictured Trina's wound healing. From his hand came a soft green glow as he directed the healing energy into her body. He had to be careful with the amount of healing energy he used. "That's right, slow down the bleeding. Come on, start to scab up."

It was slowly working. The blood was slowly lessening. Some of it was starting to form a tiny scab near the top of the cut. If he could push his abilities a little more he could close the cut.

"King, king Kingler!" Kingler talked to his trainer. "Kingler king!" He had seen his fair number of injuries before, both Pokémon and human. He was asking his trainer to stop for now; knowing that some wounds should be left to heal in their own time.

Crabby and Kingler, could regenerate a lost leg, even though it would take time. Humans couldn't and he knew more serious injuries need medical help to heal correctly. He reminded Ash that if he sealed the wound, any infection in there would spread.

The Heart stopped healing his Protector just in time. Rotom Dex came flying over as Professor Kukui appeared with a med kit. He looked over Trina and asked Ash what happened.

"I'm not entirely sure! I was playing/training with my Pokémon when I heard Leba screaming. Kingler and Corphish started shouting as well, so we all swam over to where they were. Buizel, Palpitoad and Totodile dove down with me and saw Trina unconscious with on her strap stuck in the rocks.

Totodile bit the strap in half as Buizel got under her and carried her up to the surface. We made our way to shore and I got the water out of her and waited for you."

Kukui finished his exam. Trina's breathing was starting to get better and her pulse was slowly gaining strength. Still, she had major cuts that would need to be flushed out in case of infection before being stitched up. A doctor could also give a more accurate assessment of Trina's condition. He started to pick her up when he saw the state Leba was in.

"Ash, I know you're worried about Trina, but right now there's nothing you can do. Leba needs help and fast. Take her to Pokémon Center and tell Nurse Joy she's suffering from salt poisoning. I'll take Trina to the hospital and call you later." The teen nodded as he scooped up Leba and started running to the Pokémon Center.

Than night was a long one. Trina ended up needing ten stitches to close the wound on her head and spent the night being give different antibiotics to prevent any infection. She spent the night in the hospital still unconscious. Meanwhile Leba was being treated for the poisoning by being hooked up to saline/dextrose drip to help correct the imbalance.

The next morning the two partners woke up feeling completely normal. Trina didn't have a concussion, but was advised to take it easy for a couple days until her body regained its strength. That meant no training or intense physical activity for a least a week. She also need to continue to take antibiotics for a few more days and change her bandages every day.

Nurse Joy had also given Leba instructions. She was to refrain from swimming in the ocean for a few weeks to avoid another salt poisoning. Spend at least an extra hour of sunlight and eat a special blend of Pokémon food for two weeks to ensure she was healthy.

So once again, Trina was stuck in the house alone with no one around. She and Leba couldn't do anything. Meanwhile Ash started to slip with his special training and started hanging with Lana getting advice for helping his water Pokémon to get stronger. Totodile and Palpitoad wanted to evolve to their next stages.

It was the middle of the week and Ash was at school along with Professor Kukui. Both had set up everything Trina would need. Rotom Dex even programmed the TV to play his favorite episodes of Detective Laki for her, conveniently forgetting she didn't like that show much.

After watching an episode, Trina turned off the TV. "I'm bored sitting here doing nothing when I can be out there doing something fun. The longer I'm stuck here, the more I wonder if I'm…"

"LEAF! Leafeon leaf le Leba!"

"I'm not much of a Protector if I'm laid up am I? Maybe I'm not the right Protector for the job anymore."

"Leba! Leaf leaf Leafeon. Leaf!" Leba voice was adamant. Trina was one of the best Protectors out there and that she was simply going through a rough patch. It happened to even the best Protectors and it would pass.

"Maybe or maybe not. Ugh, come on Leba, let's get out of here. I'm sure a short walk into the forest won't exert ourselves too much. We can even pick some berries to eat."

* * *

A few minutes later they were in the forest near Kukui's house. It was short walk and they were only planning to go a bit further to check out some of the berry trees. There were no other Pokémon around and the forest felt peaceful. It was just the two of them once more.

They found some trees where the berries had fallen off of. Leba loved the taste of Leppa berries. They were juicy and always made her feel better. Trina loved eating a Bluk berries. The taste was an acquired one as the dry outer side was consumed first before getting to the sweet insides.

She remembered gathering berries as a toddler with her mom and making deserts with them. Her dad would the read her stories and tell her about his epic adventures before Enzo and Una would tuck her in. Leba would sleep in arms with Glen sleeping up against her back.

Blinking to clear her eyes she went a little further into the woods, searching for more berries or a place to take a short nap. Someplace that made her feel loved and safe. Where she could figure out her mixed up feelings. There was a tiny clearing ringed by trees so she lay down in the grass and started to meditate.

Taking a deep breath she imagined the air going throughout her body to her tippy toes and then back out of her body. She did that again and again until her body was completely relaxed. She felt the sun filtering through the trees warming her as she forgot about what had happened at the beach.

It was very peaceful and she felt like her inner feelings were slowly disappearing from her mind. Life was easy and no one was there to hurt her. There was no pain and no worries. In this moment everything was perfect.

She had no idea that she was being approached by Bluff and his Pokémon. He had gotten the first part of his project done and he was ready to test it out. Last night Zeke, his Pokémon, had stolen a partially created Z-Ring from the island kahuna. He had tweaked it to his specifications and now was ready to perform the first test to see if his prototype worked.

"Are you ready to make a scientific breakthrough Zeke?"

"Zeke."

Bluff pushed his glasses back up and started fiddling with his modified Z-Ring adjusting the Dark Type crystal in its new slot. He twisted the dial he had added turning up the power source. Instead of doing a pose he pointed it at Zeke commanding him to use the power to amplify his ability. "It's up to you Zeke! Let's break that Protector."

Zeke growled as he crossed his arms, spread his legs apart and lifted tail above the ground. Is blue eyes turned white as a cloak of darkness covered him. With loud growl he unleashed the cloak sending it into the clearing to mess with the Protector.

* * *

The cloak split apart turning into illusions of people Trina knew. Their presences caused the sun to be blocked out and the air to turn cold. The young Protector whimpered and rolled around. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't come out of her meditation.

Two illusions crept closer to her. They had evil smiles on their face as they both whispered in cruel things in her ears, using her parents' voices, knowing that would hurt her even worse

"Pathetic, worthless, stupid. You think you're the greatest Protector, but in reality your scared frightened child, who knows she's an outsider. No one loves you or cares. Any accomplishments you think you have done, are false because no one like you could accomplish anything," the female illusion taunted.

"You're a thief and a liar. You take away other people's heart-bonded Pokémon and twist them to do your bidding. You call yourself honest, but you lie to yourself and others," the male voice hissed.

Inside Trina's mind she found herself in darkness all alone. Her parent stood away from her sneering with eyes full of scorn and displeasure. They kept repeating those cruel words making her feel less than human. "Please, stop. None of that is true!"

In the clearing nine smaller illusions ran around Trina's body. Each of them saying hurtful things. The nine smaller illusions were of the all the eveelutions she had helped raise or belonged to her parents.

"Weakling."

"Failure."

"Unloved."

"Uncaring."

"Has-been."

"Fake."

"Friendless."

"Undeserving."

"Heartless."

In her mind, Trina felt all the members of her Pokémon family attacking her. They had loathing in their eyes and cheered in delight as they tore at her inner self. Trina's mental defenses were falling apart fast."This isn't real, this isn't true. None of you are here!"

"Oh believe me when I say we're here. You don't deserve to be the Protector of the Heart. You don't deserve to be the Protector of anything! You should go far away and never return!" an image of Ash appeared in her mind, as he tried to take her pendent.

In the real world, the illusions had formed a tight circle around Trina's body. Whispering evil things. They were gaining solidness and they were ready to injure and maim the teen. Bluff watching from his hiding place enjoying the show as Zeke increased his power to his illusions.

Leba sensed the danger and raced into the clearing. She saw the creatures there, but they had no scent, meaning they were just illusions. Growling she raced into the clearing to free her friend. There was a sudden blur and the Leafeon looked up to see her own double. The evil Leba growled and used Scary Face to bring Leba speed down to nothing.

Now most humans would say all Pokémon look the same as the rest of their species except the shiny ones, but true trainers could see the slight difference that made each member of the same species look a bit different. They each had their own unique marks that made them different. This fake's fur was rougher and coarser then her own.

" _How can you hope to defeat a power beyond your understanding? Maybe I should break your mind as well."_

" _Not going to happen! Island Guardian Tapu Koko, hear my plea! Help me save my heart bonded person!"_

" _You think that's really going to work? The Island Guardian has better things to do then answer your pitiful cri…"_

" _NATURES MADNESS!"_

The powerful fairy type move spread across the ground, through the clearing, and into the other parts of the forest wiping away any traces of Darkness. Zeke was knocked unconscious and Bluff nearly lost his Dark Z-crystal if he hadn't quickly snatched it out of the tweaked Z-ring.

"That's enough of a field test right now. Zeke return!" He took off not wanting to meet Melemele Island's Guardian. He suspected he wouldn't survive an encounter.

Tapu Koko cocked his head as he heard a human running deeper into the forest. He'd been coming to investigate the surge of Dark Type energy. It was very similar to the power in Darkieum Z-crystal, but he felt something tainted about it. Instead of giving chase he flew down to check on the Leafeon who had called for his help.

" _How is the Protector doing?"_

" _Physically fine, but those things were tainting her mind. What were they? I thought they were illusions, but one managed to pin me down. Still it doesn't make sense if they were nightmare creatures by a Darkrai. There are none here and the ones we've met are friends with us."_

Tapu Koko touched the tip of his wing to Trina's forehead. He released a small amount of Fairy Type energy, hoping that it would push out any residual darkness left behind. He looked at Leba, his green eyes displaying a tiny bit of worry.

" _I'm not sure what they were, only that they were powered up by a Z-crystal, but it wasn't the usual kind. I've never seen any Pokémon on this island who would try to hurt someone, especially a Protector, in this manner. I will need to investigate and deal with the threat myself."_

" _Wait, before you go, can you please help me get her back to the house? This attack has left her very fragile and I don't think she can walk back by herself."_

Tapu Koko nodded as he scooped both Trina and Leba up and flew them out of the forest and back to the Professor house. The skylight had been left open so Tapu Koko came down through that and put the human down on the couch to rest. Leba thanked the Island Guardian who disappeared quickly to start investigating.

" _Who would want to harm you mentally? You're the best person in the world I know. I hope you wake up and don't remember what happened."_ When the Heart got back from school, she was going to give him a piece of her mind.

* * *

Tapu Koko flew in the air searching everywhere for the source of the strange energy. He wasn't sure what had caused it, but if someone was using a Pokémon to attack humans, it was his responsibility to stop it. He did not want a repeat episode with what happened to the Protector.

Even in regions as far away as Alola, the Pokémon knew about the Protectors. A group of special humans and Pokémon, who worked together, their hearts as one, to ensure all bonds remained safe. They would go out of their way to ensure that anyone who suffered from a broken bond or tainted by evil was healed. Many wild Pokémon groups who wish to remain separate from humans trusted the Protectors to ensure no one bothered them.

Having a Protector in Alola was a blessing, an indication that others would come and aid the Island Guardians in the future. It would be a big help to have such a trusted group here in Alola, especially when it came to protecting sacred treasures from thieves and criminal organizations.

Hovering in the clearing, Tapu Koko looked around looking for clues to what happened here. The air here was still heavy and the energy from the strange Darkinium Z-Crystal that had been used.

He followed the trail until he came to a thick area of trees. Something on the ground caught his eye. It was a pair of scientific googles that could see very far away and in multiple spectrums. Some of the trees had been sliced in half to give the viewer more room to see.

There were a set two sets of footprints. One set belonged to a human. Judging by how deep the depression was, it was young male in his late teens. He was wearing sneakers. There was no unusual markings on the sole. This could belong to anyone on the island.

The other set clearly came from a Pokémon with large paw and three claws on the end. It stood on two legs and judging by the print, the ball of its feet didn't touch the ground. Also its gait was very spread apart. Only one Dark Type could have made these tracks and created those strange illusions.

 _"A Zoroark. But Zoroark aren't native to the Alola. They're primarily found in Unova with only a small population in Kalos. Someone brought that Pokémon with him to this island, meaning he's not native. There are hundreds of tourist visiting each day. I need to see how far these tracks take me."_

Tapu Koko followed the tracks until they came to a stop by the road. The energy was gone and he didn't have a good sense of smell to track scents. For now, it appeared that duo had gotten away. He would have to keep an eye out for trouble. Hopefully, the duo would make another attempt soon and he could find them.

* * *

When Ash and Kukui got home that afternoon Leba lunged at Ash throwing her full weight on top of him. She growled at him and tied him up with Grass Knot. She then growled at all the other Pokemon telling them to back off as this was a private matter between the two.

"LEBA! Cut it out! What's wrong with you?"

"LEAFEON! Leaf le Leafeon!" she growled at him. He knew what she was saying and how angry she was. She backed off and let him tear himself free so he could get up. He walked over to the couch. The minute he saw Trina he felt their bond getting supercharged and he could feel what she was feeling.

It was as if a wave of misery and loneliness had crashed into him. There was fear and panic. The most awful feeling was as if his heart was starting to break. Something had happened to Trina and he hadn't felt it. What kind of Heart was he if he couldn't sense when his Protector was in trouble? Was something wrong with his powers or was he simply not practicing them as often as he should?

"Trina, wake up. Come on wake up, please?" He gave her a little shake, then a stronger one.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Trina shot up from the couch and started breathing hard. She startled Ash, who fell on top of Litten, who blasted the boy an Ember attack. He ran around before finally remembering to stop, drop, and roll to put the fire out.

Litten looked a little upset and made an apologetic sound. "It's okay Litten. Trina what… Trina?" The late teen was not on the couch anymore. Even Professor Kukui was confused. He had looked away for a second to watch Ash put out the fire and then she was gone. Neither one of them had seen someone disappear so fast before.

Seeing his Poke balls that Trina was holding for him, lying on the table, he released all his water types. They all looked happy ready to train, but then noticed the serious expression on their trainer's face. "Alright, I know this is your usual skill set, but I need your help. Trina's gone missing and since this is an island, I need you to check by the ocean or any streams you find okay?"

* * *

They all rushed out to look for Trina leaving Kukui behind with Leba. The Leafeon hadn't left the house and seemed to be anxiously waiting for Kukui to leave. Her eyes darted to the stairway to the lab.

The professor had a sneaking suspicion where they teen went and it wasn't out of the house. He walked downstairs to his lab and found the girl curled up in a chair crying. Her entire face was a mess and her hair was untidy. She shivered in the chair and was crying softly. She didn't look like she was doing okay.

"You know, Ash ran out of here so fast, I'm surprised the floor isn't smoking from rubber burns. Don't you think you should go find him and tell him you're fine?"

She shook her head saying Ash would love running around and his Pokémon could use the training. She would contact him in about fifteen minutes, after he got a good run in and tell him she came back. "He doesn't need to see me like this. No one should see me like this."

Kukui took the seat next to her and studied her for a second. "I'm not an expert in kids or teenagers, despite being a teacher. I'm better with facts and passing on knowledge then understanding the complexities that come with relationships between humans, especially teenagers. I'm also not sure how to help you if you won't talk."

"I had a bad dream is all professor. Something everyone has once and awhile."

Kukui pointed out that was true, but he also pointed out he didn't think it was normal for a person to have so many nightmares in a single night. He also mentioned her nightmares appeared to be getting worse, if she kept staying up later to avoid sleep. Hearing that shocked the girl.

"You know I don't go to bed early? What else do you know?" She was terrified he knew who she really was or had stumbled on to her private files. If she had endangered and innocent she would never be able to forgive herself.

"That you like to come down here at night and read through my data on Z-moves. You read it for a long time, then go to bed. If you're attempting to get your mind to dream about something else and the data hasn't worked, maybe we should try something else."

Trina sighed with relief and relaxed a fraction. He didn't know what she was really doing in his lab. He was safe from harm. As for her sleeping habits, she needed him to stop worrying about her.

"That's kind of you, but I don't want to be a bother. You have enough to worry about then concerning yourself with my sleeping problems." I'm a Protector. I should be able to handle my own problems she thought to herself.

"You're my guest and it's not a problem. I care about both you and Ash. You obviously have a strong bond, but it's being tested right now. I know you don't want it to break. If you let me help you, maybe I can give you both some insight on how to make things better between you two."

"Leafeon le leaf le." The Leafeon placed her front paws on the chair looking up at her friend. She was pleading with her to allow the professor to help her.

Trina knew Leba was right, but it was difficult to talk to Professor Kukui. They hadn't really interacted much despite her being in his house for almost three months now. Besides, what could she tell him, without revealing too much about who she really was?

Kukui waited patiently hoping the teenager would open up. Despite being a teacher for some time now, he was well aware he didn't really understand Trina. It was partially his fault for not talking to her often because she didn't go to the school. Another problem was that Trina was very focused on her bond with Ash, she didn't seem aware of other people at times.

"Their memories, bad memories," Trina whispered, causing Kukui to lean in to hear. "My nightmares, their twisted versions of my memories, both good and bad. There so realistic that I sometimes can tell if I'm dreaming, remembering, or something else is going on."

Kukui listened as she described one twisted memory. She was five years old and playing in the garden. She was laughing and helping dig holes for new flowers. Her mom was looking at her proudly as she planted her first flower.

Then the memory twisted. Her mom had taken the trowel and smacked her across the face with it. When she cried her mom shoved her deep underground and planted flowers on top of her, trapping her in the soil forever until she woke up.

"That does sound like a bad dream. Are there any other you would like to talk about?"

Hesitantly she spoke of a few other twisted memories. The one where she was with her dad as he showed her his collection of autographs for the first time, a month before her fourth birthday. She helping him sort them when she was locked in a room and left alone being told to not make a sound.

She was six and in school. Sitting next to her was a female Eevee paying close attention to the teacher. Sleeping under the desk was a male Eevee, occasionally snoring. Everything was peaceful and wonderful

The memory twisted when both the Eevees evolved and attacked her. They tried to freeze her or strangle her to death. Loud voices echoed around her claiming she didn't deserve to be there. She didn't belong.

Sensing a repeating pattern Kukui asked her to stop talking. All the memories were from when she was a very little child. Each memory was a moment of happiness and love, then twisted around in a way to make Trina feel worthless, unloved, or she meant nothing. It was a very disturbing pattern.

"Those are good reasons to not want to sleep. I notice your memory dreams seem to all take place when you were a small child. Did something happen to you as a child that could be affecting you now?"

The teen got squirmy and looked down at the floor refusing to speak. Kukui could read her behavior. Something was bothering her and it was causing her a great deal of inner pain. "I don't want you to think you're worthless. Despite not having seen you in a Pokémon battle yet, I know you're a stronger trainer. You're also the most physically fit teen I've ever seen. You should be proud of yourself."

"Maybe," she whispered to herself, but Kukui caught it. He needed to look into finding a therapist for Trina. She sounded as if she really needed one to help her with whatever she couldn't talk about. "Right now, I just want to go to sleep without having a nightmare."

"I know a local remedy that I've used in the past that's helpful. Why don't you call Ash back and I'll fix it up for you. To help you sleep you can rest in my bedroom for the night. I don't mind sleeping on the couch."

Trina was already asleep when Ash returned. He was exhausted from searching for Trina. When she had contacted him, he had been slightly angry that she worried him like that. His Pokémon, however had been relieved to know she was okay

"So where is she? Does she realize how worried I was? Was this a game to her?" Ash demanded angrily. His anger really seemed out of proportion than the situation demanded. If his Pokemon didn't know him so well, they would think he wanted to physically hurt Trina due to his anger.

"Shu, she's sleeping finally." Professor Kukui explained the conversation between him and Trina. She had not meant to worry him. Something was going on, but until the late teen felt up to talking about what was bothering her so much that is caused her nightmares, it was best to leave her alone for now.

While the rest of them sat down for an early dinner, Totodile slipped away from the group and headed to the bedroom, dancing softly, as not to disturb anyone. He called out once he reached the door to the bedroom and Leba opened it.

" _What are you doing here? My heart bonded human is finally sleeping without a nightmare. She doesn't need a disturbance."_

" _I'm not here to disturb her, I thought I could help her out by cuddling with her. It's obvious by your drooping leaves you haven't gotten that extra sunshine you need. Did you even eat your special food?"_

Leba shook her head and indicated that her partner needed her right now. Again Totodile told her that he could watch over for a little while. Knowing he wasn't going anywhere, Leba agreed to it as long as he didn't wake her up. Nodding the two Pokémon switched places.

The little dancing Pokémon snuck into the room and saw the Protector sleeping on the big bed. She seemed content, but her arms kept reaching for something to hold onto.

" _I'm not the cuddliest Pokémon, but I think I can help. She needs some cheering up, even in her sleep and I'm the best one to do that."_ Totodile climbed up to the bed and snuggled under the covers next to Trina. Her arms wrapped around his front, somehow avoiding his spikes. She cuddled closer with him making him extremely happy.

When Leba came back an hour later she was surprised to see that Totodile had evolved into Croconaw while she was gone. Not sure how it happened, she woke the newly evolved Pokémon and told him to go show his new form to Ash.

He did and Leba heard the Heart's surprised and happy comments before she shut the door, ready to sleep once more.

* * *

Two days later, a small cruise ship was heading to Hau'oli City Docks. The boat had come all the way from Sinnoh carrying passengers from Canalave City who wanted to vacation in Alola. On the deck of the ship, gazing out across the water, was a young female about Trina's age with a male Luxray sitting next to her.

The late teen was average height, slightly tanned with long moss green hair that had a spiked tuff coming out on the top of her head. Her eyes were the same color of her hair. Her oval shape face and middle size nose made her appear to be wiser than her years.

She wore small yellow cap on her head, the tuff of hair sticking out the back. Her short sleeve shirt was red with a black collar and trim on the sleeves. Her capri pants were red and black, along with tall white socks and red and black walking shoes. She had a familiar set of accessories, a disguised watch with a black wrist band underneath it, the purple pendent, and some gold studs. Her bag was a simple red purse with a black Poke ball symbol.

"When Head Protector Eva assigned me this mission, I didn't think about how long it would take to get there. We've been on the ocean for nearly three days and we're still half a day until we reach Melemele Island. All this ocean is making me dizzy."

" _Perhaps we should return to our cabin for the remainder of the journey. I'm starting to lose my sea legs Xaveria. Maybe I should have gone into my Poke ball for the journey, but I can't leave my heart bond human alone."_

"What kind of heart bonded person would I be if I didn't get my friend out of the hot sun? Let's head back to the cabin Leon. We can review our mission perimeters there."

They headed back to the cabin and sat down on the bed drawing the shades. Neither one of them were use to so much sunlight. It didn't help Leon that his fur was black and capturing all the sun's heat. They would have to find a way to decrease that.

Xaveria tapped on her hidden computer and brought up the mission perimeters one more time. "Head Protector Eva and Luca are worried about Trina's mental state. Especially after she accidentally sent a copy of a page from her diary instead of report."

" _That's why we're going to Alola. We're to check on her and the Heart. See if something is amiss and help fix it."_

"True Leon, but remember our other objective. We need to also check for recent negative activity. Our sensors picked up a strange signal emanating near Trina and Ash's location. We need to make sure it's not hurting them or if is, find a way to stop it."

Leon nodded seriously. He knew what was at stake here if he and Xaveria couldn't help Trina. He only hoped they wouldn't be too late to fix the bond between Protector and the Heart before it broke completely.


	4. Crashing Waves

**This will the last update for awhile. I'm having some problems in the real world that require my attention. I don't know when I'll be back, but know I haven't abandoned this story.**

* * *

It was the day after Xaveria arrived on Melemele Island. When the boat had finally docked, it was very late in the afternoon. It nearly caused her to miss her check in at the hotel. After settling into the room, she had Leo use his special eyes to scan for trouble while she set up some defenses in the hotel room. Then they had gone to bed.

Now as the sun started to climber higher in the sky, Xaveria was trying to find a Pokémon salon, to get Leon fur cut. He was boiling with his black fur. She hoped a trim would help cool him off a little.

She finally found one next to the mall and thankfully it was air conditioned. "Ugh finally, I was baking in this heat," Xaveria stated out loud as she entered the shop. Next to Leon said the same thing.

The clerk looked amused. She had heard that statement a lot from tourists. "First time in Alola?"

"Yeah, I'm from Sinnoh and we don't get nearly as much heat as this, well where I live exactly. I was wondering if you could do anything to help Leon here. He's practically melting in the sun."

"Lux lux Luxray."

"Of course we have someone. Juno is our best stylist and will help your Luxray and any other Pokémon you might have feel comfortable Ms.?"

"Valley, Xaveria Valley. What's the price per trim?" After giving her an estimate Xaveria agreed to it and let Juno take Leon back along with the ones she was currently training for the upcoming Bonding Ceremony back home.

While waiting for her Pokémon to get finish getting their trimmings, Xaveria casually talked to the clerk asking her about anything unusual that had been going on. She wanted to plan her visit accordingly.

The clerk had no trouble talking about the recent sightings of the Island Guardian Tapu Koko and the Pokémon School's open house in two weeks. She talked about the weather commenting that they were due for a storm in a few days.

The clerk paused for minute to tap her chin trying to remember something. "There is something you should watch out for. People who go into the forest for hikes have been talking about how different it feels these days."

Xaveria raised an eyebrow and leaned in. "Different? How different can one forest be to the next?"

The clerk looked at her, her body tightening up for a split second. "The forests of Melemele Island have been tranquil and calm, but there is a heaviness in the air and people feel like they're being watched. Unusual sounds can be heard. I can only hope the Island Kahuna can figure out what is happening."

Xaveria had read about the Kahunas while on the boat trip. There were four of them and each one had an island they were in charge of. If she remembered correctly the Island Guardians chose the Kahunas, believing them to be the best ones to lead the people and Pokémon, on a peaceful path to the future.

Noting she needed to talk to the Kahuna later Xaveria settled back down and waited for Leon and the others to return. About twenty minutes later Juno came back with Leon and the Poke balls. She had done a magnificent job.

Leon's back end had the fur near its tail trimmed down and the fur on the back legs was shorter. His front legs had sections missing and the paws had been carefully trimmed to let him still use his claws, but wouldn't get so much sand sticking to them. A small section of his chest and the side fur on his front have had been shaved off. His mane was smaller with a few cuts to allow air to move over his body.

" _I feel so much better. I'm not overheating and I can move freely again without stuff getting stuck to me. This is the best fur cut I ever had. The others are happy as well."_

The moss haired teen nodded and paid the clerk. They left the store and started heading to the tourist bureau. She had downloaded what information the Protectors had, which wasn't much, on the region. "If we're to succeed in our mission than we need to get more local information."

" _When are we going to check up on the Heart and Trina? She's our primary responsibility remember? Whatever negative energy is here, can wait until after we've done a quick check in."_

"You're right and we will. If however, this negative energy we need to investigate is causing problems for our friends, we need to obtain as much knowledge as we can on this place. It wouldn't do us any good if we stood out."

" _Agreed Xaveria. I just hope we can pick up the pace a little. That entry from her diary is very concerning. We don't know what Trina will do or if Leba can keep her from doing something drastic."_ With that thought in mind the two started walking just a bit faster.

* * *

At the school, Kukui had stepped out of the classroom for a short bit, while the students got started with making decorations for the open house. He was in Principal Oak's office and made a call to his wife, Professor Burnett, at her research lab on Akala Island. He never called her during his work hours before. So the first thing she did was ask, "Did someone die?"

"No, why would you even ask that particular question?"

"You tend to be dramatic when I'm away too long is all."

"Ha ha ha, you're a real laugh dear," Kukui told her. She just smiled and waited for him to talk. "I'm calling on a serious matter. Remember, when I told you about our house guests?"

"You mean the kidl-ike teenager and the serious young lady? Of course I remember. I am looking forward to meeting them when I visit you on my next vacation break," Burnett responded delightfully. "From what you told me they sound pretty amazing."

Kukui admitted they were, but then explained for the reason for his call. His wife listened patiently only interrupting to get clarification on his observations. A wrinkle formed on her forehead by the description of the nightmare dreams. She had some experience with dreams, having worked with Dr. Fennel in Unova before moving to Alola, but this was beyond her expertise.

"I only helped Fennel with her research on Pokémon dreams and basic construction of her Dreamworld. I never studied dreams and their meanings in humans. What I can say is what your describing aren't nightmares, but night terrors."

Seeing her husband confusion she explained that night terrors differed from nightmares, as happening in early childhood. They mostly disappeared when a person grew into their adolescent. They could return in young adulthood.

Night terrors happened during NREM period when the brain was experiencing delta wave activity. People would bolt upright in excessive amounts of sweat and their bodies would be thrashing about. The heartbeat would double. The emotional confusion would leave them inconsolable. The frequency of these events could be one day a week to several times.

"The main difference with night terrors in adults is usually they're the result of two things. Both a poor diet and not sleeping enough, or, because of some kind of mental trauma. I would go with some kind of trauma from what you told me about."

"That would be my guess as well, but what can I do?" He took off his hat and fanned himself as he tapped his foot. "Trina won't talk, Ash doesn't seem to be aware of what's going on, and I don't know where to turn to for help. I'm a Pokémon Professor not a medical doctor."

Professor Burnett hated seeing her husband stuck like this. She wasn't a medical doctor either, but she did have some friends who knew people in that profession. "I'll ask my colleagues if they know anyone who works in psychiatry. I'll send you the information and we can go from there."

He appreciated it and would be waiting for her call. It was too bad they had to say goodbye, but both had to get back to their jobs.

* * *

In the hidden house deep in the forest Bluff was continuing his research. So far he had run several more tests and was pleased by the results he had gotten. "It would seem my old friend that my initial realigning of the Z-crystals structure worked, but it didn't hold out very long."

"Zoroark zo zoro."

"Agreed. The crystalline structure of these Z-crystals doesn't match any known formation found in the database. That is a strong indicator that these Z-crystals might have come from another dimension. If so, I must rearrange the crystal structure in a different pattern."

"Zoroark zora roak."

Bluff nodded at Zeke who understood the complexity off rearranging the crystal structures. The metal's amplification power was currently too much for the crystals causing them to nearly break. "We must be careful, we only have one sample of each crystal and repeated alterations will further destabilize them unless we can get the stabilizing DNA for the process."

"Zoro zo Zoroark?" The Dark type Pokémon asked. His tail swished impatiently and he clicked his claws. Zeke wanted to do something useful and required causing lots of mayhem.

Bluff scratched the top of Zeke's head in just the right place to make his Zoroark howl in delight. He reached into his pocket and pulled out several Poke Beans. This regions treats was enjoyable to say the least. Zeke was very picky when it came to treats. Berries were fine and the occasional candy, but he despised Poke Block, Poffins, and Puffs.

"It's going to take me most of the day to finish coming up with a new crystal structure and refining metal. Then I have to finish creating the injector," he informed his friend. He glanced at the clock on the wall and tilted his head back in deep thought.

"Zeke, I just figured out a way you can help me. It's time we rattle the other end of this bond harder. Get to the school and do whatever it takes to make the Heart suffer, without killing him." Bluff reached into his desk and gave Zeke a list of items.

Zeke growled in delight. He was one of the few Pokémon in the organization that both of them were in, who could read human language. It helped when you could use illusions to look like a human child struggling to read. "Zoroark!"

Bluff nodded pleased he could count on his Pokémon. After giving Zeke a bag for holding the stolen items, he fitted a chest cam on Zeke so he could record everything he did. Knowing the Heart's ability to draw others to help him, he needed information on all his allies. Then Bluff could come up with a strategy to neutralize them.

Zeke got to the school and hid in the forest watching as the students from the different classes came out to the court to train with their Pokémon. He quickly identified the Heart. The boy was more powerful than he let on. He identified the closest allies and their Pokémon. After securing the bag, he made his move.

Leaping out of the forest he landed on the roof of the school and used Night Slash to send tiles to the ground. Kids ran in different directions as he continued to use Night Slash to ruin the roof. Crawling into the bell tower, he forced a Chesto Berry into Komala's mouth and hurled the Normal type through the air.

The whole yard stopped and looked shocked as they saw an _awake_ Komala clutching his log with his eyes wide open as it came downwards. The log struck the ground and Komala was flipped off and sent tumbling down the road screaming. Principal Oak, heard his beloved Pokémon in pain and was rushing to get outside, his new Fire type Vulpix hot on his heels. "Don't worry Komala! I'm coming! You don't have to worry!"

Zeke landed in front of him growling loudly and struck the man directly in the chest sending him flying down the corridor. He dodged Vulpix's Ember attack and kicked the Pokémon. Turning on his illusion ability he changed into an exact copy of the man.

"Who are you? Why are you Trubishing our school?"

"Do you honestly think I'm going to tell you? Zoroack's never betray our family. I just need one more thing from you," Zeke told them in a mocking voice. With a nasty smile he unleashed his most powerful dark pulse knocking out Principle Oak and Vulpex completely.

He reached into the man's short pockets and pulled out a series of keys. Laughing in amusement, he hurried down the corridor tossing out smoke bombs and the occasional item to frightened the kids outside as their Pokémon tried to find them.

He came to the Principal's office and got in with the keys. Zeke started trashing the place occasionally filling his bag with something of interests. Behind the poster of Principle Oak and Komala winning the PPR, was a small safe. "Hope one of these keys opens it. My heart bond human is never wrong when it comes to finding the right material for the right job."

Carefully Zeke insert the keys one by one until he found the right one that opened the safe. Inside, were a few personal belongings of Principle Oak, a few papers and items related to school activities. In the very back were two items that looked extremely old. One was a sea map and the other was a small box.

The Zoroark carefully picked up the map with his claws and sealed it into a preserved jacket. He then open the box a smidgen and was pleased to see a small glowing octadecagon badge.

After securing those two items it was time for the fun part. Attacking the humans and their Pokémon while gathering samples. He also could wait to hurt the Heart even more. That would show that kid he was on the losing side.

* * *

Everyone was starting to calm down as the smoke cleared away. Rowlet had retrieved Komala, who was still wide awake, and trembling in Professor Kukui's arms. The other teachers were checking on their students making sure everyone was okay. The students were also making sure they're Pokémon were safe.

Principal Oak came out of the school and called out, "Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, we're shaken, but fine. Although I'm worried about poor Komala here. He's awake and frightened Principal Oak," Kukui told the man. He was wondering why the principal was just standing there instead of coming over to get his Pokémon.

Ash was standing next to Kukui as he felt a shiver go down his spine. Ash started to cough violently and started to sway on his feet. He looked the principal straight in the eye. The man narrowed his eyes on the boy and smirked.

Ash clutched his chest as his empathetic abilities started to become overwhelmed. There was so much hatred and viciousness in the Principal's eyes. There was desire to hurt and destroy things. There was also a familiarity to it, as if he had felt this before. "Look…out! That's not the principal," he said before fainting to the ground.

As the class looked at him in confusion Principal Oak let out an evil laugh. "You're not as dumb as you pretend to be are you boy?" Principal Oak suddenly changed his appearance and now looked like Professor Kukui.

The professor took a step back upon seeing himself unsure what was going on. The person standing in the doorway changed shape again this time turning into Mallow, Lana, and then Lilly. Back flipping the person changed into Sophocles and then spun around to become Kiawe. Forming a heart with his hands the person transformed into Ash, spooking him badly.

"Stop this right now! Who are you really and what do you want?" Mallow demanded getting fed up with all this mocking.

The person suddenly changed into different Pokémon, most of them belonging to the Ash's classmates, throwing in a few other students Pokémon. Seeing how freaked out they all were, the stranger let a black cloak formed around him.

With a mighty roar the cloak flew off the person and separated until there were doubles of everyone and their Pokémon. "Take them down!" The creature said as it sent a Dark Pulse attack to the right and Night Slash to the left causing confusion and panic.

"Everyone stay together, don't get separated!" Ash cried out. He struggled to get up to his feet. Rockruff and Litten were trying to steady his legs as Rowlett tried to pull up Ash from the back of his shirt. Pikachu pushed him in the chest to get his upper body to move.

While they were doing this, the rest of the class was under attack. They tried to stay together, but those clones kept popping in and out. Their Pokémon tried to warn them of who was fake, but found themselves under attack by different copies of their friends.

Togedemaru shrieked as one of her spines was ripped off by a fake Steene Sophocles turned to help only to be punched in the gut by a copy of Mallow before she scratched him to get his blood. Meanwhile Sophocles and Togedmaru's clones had shoved the teen and her Pokémon to the ground kicking and scratching them.

Kiawe and Turtanator faced copies of Lana and Popplio and it was vice versa with the real ones facing copies of the other. The clones worked together tiring the two pairs out before getting the biological samples.

Professor Kukui tried to protect Lillie and Snowy, but he was no match for three clones. The three of them got taken down by their own evil selves, each taking either a piece hair, fur, or blood. During this time Lillie started crying in fear and was going into shock. Despite the pain Snowy was in the white Vulpex managed to get close enough to comfort the blond girl.

Ash had managed to get to his feet when all his Pokémon and even Rotom Dex started flinching as they were hit by a powerful Dark Pulse. In the blink of an eye, the Pokémon and even Rotom, felt something take pieces of them.

"Guys! Ahhh!" He was being held high up in the air by creature who had created an illusion of Ash only if he was evil. The being covered his Z-Ring squeezing tightly "Let me go!"

"Not just yet Heart! I want to see how much I can crack it!" Ash screamed as his body was assaulted with negative energy. He could feel his Z-Ring and the Electrium Z about to shatter. He couldn't lose both precious gifts.

With all the chaos no one noticed when Ash started to glow white or when the glow turned into a glittering form of Tapu Koko shooting the sky. Everyone _did_ notice though when Tapu Koko slammed into the creature and Ash was released.

 _"You! I've been looking for you and your master!"_

 _"It took you three days to find me, you must be losing your touch Island Guardian,"_ Zeke mocked him. _"Really, where is your pride? Why guard these humans anyways? I know you Tapus' deep down don't care for any of them. It would be much easier to wipe them off your islands"_

 _"Do not presume to know how we feel about our islands and the humans and Pokémon that live on them. Why are you attacking the Heart and his Protector?"_

 _"None of your business. I need to get going now."_ Zeke could tell the Island Guardian had no intention of letting him leave, so the disguised Pokémon pointed behind him.

Turning around Tapu Koko let out a cry of surprise. The Heart was struggling to stay alive with all that negative energy still coursing through him. Ash's body was flailing around as if he was having a sever seizure. The Z-Ring and its crystal would explode in a manner of minutes if they weren't purified.

 _"You can either fight me before capturing me, or you can save the Heart. Make your choice. I'm not sticking around!"_ With those ominous words Zeke left only changing back to himself once he was out of sight of the others.

As the clones vanished, Tapu Koko picked up Ash, and flew to a nearby tree. He shut his wings together so no one could see what was going on inside. The Heart was in serious trouble. Worse, he could feel the bond between Ash and Trina falling apart.

 _"Please help me,"_ Ash whimpered in Pokémon that was how much pain he was in.

Taking a deep breath, Tapu Koko once more performed Natures Madness. He had to monitor the level of power as the move engulfed the small space. Too much would cause Ash serious pain and too little wouldn't be enough to drive out the negative energy.

When Ash's body relaxed he knew the Heart would be okay. Now for the Z-Ring and the Z-crystal. While his sister Tapu Lele was better at this, he managed to focus his unique energy to purify the items. It took quite a bit out of him meaning he would be resting for several days leaving the island vulnerable.

At the Pokémon School everyone watched in utter silence as Tapu Koko brought Ash back down to the ground. The boy looked perfectly healthy. He whispered something to Ash's Pokémon and left to recover.

* * *

The entire school was halfway destroyed. Paramedics had been called as they took students and the principal to the hospital for treatment. Nurse Joy had actually requested help from any traveling Pokémon doctors to help with the flow of Pokémon. It went beyond saying they'd be pushing back the open house for a few weeks to deal with repairs.

The Island Kahuna Hala and Officer Jenny were on their way to see if they could figure out who and what attacked the school. Kukui decided it would be best if he got his class somewhere else. They had already been through enough and he didn't think they could handle being questioned.

He could treat their injuries and he was sure some food would put them at ease before he took them home one by one. A slightly damaged Rotom made the appropriate phone calls letting the parents know what was going on.

A few minutes later the group made it to the restaurant. It was empty because it was closed to the public while Mallow's parents were on Akala Island for a symposium for small business and would be back for a couple more days. Kukui managed to find some leftovers and set them out for everyone on the table.

"How is everyone doing? Does anyone need some medical attention right now? Mallow, where do your parents keep the First Aid kit?"

"In the back in the box just underneath the fire extinguisher" Mallow called out. She was holding back tears as she looked at her ruined hair. She could handle the shallow cuts and scrapes. The pain in her back was still hurting a lot, but what she really was depressed about was her hair.

The fake clones/illusions had torn out one of her long pigtails leaving just one. Poor Steene had puncture marks in one of her leafy pigtails. It was a sad sight to see. Sitting next her was Lana who was trying not look at the small burn she had gotten on her arm while poor Poplio curled at her feet looking at its beloved tail that now had a small chuck missing.

Kukui treated Lillie and Snowy first. Lillie was extremely lucky. The evil clones hadn't done much damage to her. She was filthy, her clothes had stains on them, and she had a couple abrasions, but otherwise she was fine. The creature had stolen her hat for some reason. One of Snowy's tails had been plucked clean leaving Lillie to comfort her Pokémon first.

Sophocles had to hold Kiawe's hand as the Professor disinfected the wounds on his face and checked to see if the fake Mallow punch had done any real damage besides making it tender for a few days.

Kiawe top skin layer had been cut by a high powered Bubble Beam and it was making him ache and itch. He could feel how sore his legs were and a small bump on the head where that spikey helmet struck him. Turtanator was putting on a brave face, but he really wasn't happy with the bite on his tail.

Kukui had just finished helping Mallow and Lana out when he turned to check on Ash. The boy was very quiet and tapping his fingers nervously. He kept glancing out the window. In his lap, Pikachu was cooing to him in an attempt to make him feel safer.

It was odd that Ash had experienced such a strong reaction before the creature had revealed itself so to speak. The fifteen year old had instantly known that Principal Oak wasn't real. Then there was the attack on the boy himself. The creatured had more control over its violent assault, almost as if it was following orders to not go all out when attacking him.

Why did Tapu Koko immediately remove Ash from the school grounds? What happened inside the Island Guardian's shell? There is something I'm missing here and I can't help, but think, it has something to do with Trina's health problems, Kukui thought to himself.

* * *

The door to the restaurant opened surprising everyone. The sign clearly said closed. Mallow looked past Kukui and told the customer, "I'm sorry we're closed right now. You can come back tomorrow."

Xaveria looked at Mallow before flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I'm not coming back tomorrow, not after everything I've witnessed or investigated. That attack on the school was one of the reasons I came here. The other was to find him." She pointed at Ash, who finally registered the person.

"XAVERIA! What are you oh?" Ash stood still as Leon jumped and wrapped his tail around the boy. The others started to shout when he yelled at them to calm down. "Identity check?"

Xaveria nodded and gave him a knowing look. "Wouldn't you do the same after what happened?"

Ash nodded and waited for her to verify his identity check. The others didn't move as the older teen started asking the strangest of questions. They were either still in pain or in shock of the events unfolding.

"Whose light guided you on the first day of your journey?"

"Ho-Ho."

"Whose heart did you change and who did you see once events reset?"

"Mewtwo and Mew."

"You are one, but then chose three and then a fourth to bring peace."

"Zapdos, Moltres, Articono and finally Lugia."

The questions continued and many of them were weird or phrased in such a way it didn't make sense to the others. Only when Ash answered the question about whose brother gave his soul to protect his sister who had a crush on him, by saying Latios and Latia, did they realize the answers were all about mythical and legendary Pokémon.

"Do you think Ash has really met all these Pokémon," Lillie whispered to Mallow after hearing him answer a question about which Lake Guardian's did he match in quality. He replied that he was linked with Azelf and valued valor.

"It sounds as if he has. All these Pokémon seem to gravitate to Ash for some reason. It's incredible."

"It impossible. I'm running the calculations in my head and there is no way he could have encountered both a Cressilia and a Darkrai! Why would you even want to meet a Darkrai?" Sophocles asked in a fearful tone.

"You don't need to be afraid Sophocles, there's no Darkrais in Alola," Lana assured him. She was still shocked that Ash had actually met Kyogre when he was in Hoenn.

Kiawe felt his jaw dropping even further as Ash remarked about meeting the Victini, the legendary Pokémon of victory. A chance to meet a fire type that guaranteed victory was a once in a life time thing.

Finally finishing with the questions Xaveria seemed satisfied by Ash's answers, but Leon only held the boy tighter. "You have all the right answers, but only the real you would be able to answer this riddle correctly. Ready?"

Ash nodded, eager to get free and find out what Xaveria was doing here. He hoped she wasn't replacing Trina. "Bring it on. I know the others won't get it." They protested they would as Xaveria smirked.

"I can be made of flesh, stone, or wood. I'm easy to give, but hard to fix if I break. I am the center of almost everything. My size and strength can be measured in many ways. To have me brings joy and life. To lose me brings sadness and death. What am I?"

The others pondered the question, but not even Sophocles or Rotom Dex could figure the answer out. Kukui had a pretty good idea what it was, but refrained from speaking. Something amazing was about to happen he could feel it.

After another agonizing minute Ash responded. "The answer is a heart. I, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, in the Kanto region am the Heart of the Pokémon world." Immediately there was a flash of rainbow colored aura his heart that brightened the whole restaurant. Everyone was in total disbelief except Xaveria, Leon, and Ash's Pokémon.

Snapping her fingers, Leon let the Heart go. He stood up and walked over to Xaveria, who punched him in the shoulder and started to berate him a little. "How can you be so stupid? I know you want your freedom, but why take such a big risk without Trina? How degraded is your bond that you risked exposing yourself with Legendary Call, than letting her know you were in trouble?"

"Hold on a second, Trina's back at the house recovering. She was in a bad accident a little while ago and she hasn't been sleeping properly. I figure she didn't come because she a little off her game," Ash protested.

Xaveria threw up her hands in the air and told him of course she was off her game. After what happened back home, of course she going to have problems. What happened to his empathy for people in pain? How could he be so clueless?

 _"Xaveria,"_ Leon coughed slightly and patted her leg. She looked at him wondering why he stopped her. " _Xaveria, I don't think he knows what you're talking about. Remember what Head Protector Eva said about your rival's emotional state?"_

Xaveria eyes widen and she slapped her forehead. Of course he didn't know what was going on! Trina probably lied about why she had come back from her home visit early when she caught up with him in Kanto. "I'm sorry Ash, I thought she would have told you, but I guess it's no surprise she didn't."

Ash was getting upset now. He threw his hat up in frustration and demanded to know what was going on, why was she there, and was it related to what happened at the school or to Trina? "What am I missing here Xaveria?"

Both of them looked into each other's eyes. A silent conversation taking place between them seem to cover a variety of topics. Finally they stopped looking at each other and the boy gave her a nod before sitting down.

His Alolan friends were still completely confused by what was happening. Xaveria ordered Leon to scan for trouble as she released five more Pokémon: First there was a female Kanto version Meowth. Next there was a female Glameow, a male Purloin, and a female Litleo, and lastly a tiny male Sneasel.

Without command they secured the restaurant while Xaveria pressed buttons on her disguised watch. Outside thin sheets of crystal formed a dome around the building, diverting people's eyes from the spot. The other kids gasped and there Pokémon tensed realizing they were trapped inside.

"On behalf of my students, can you please explain who you are and why you have taken such drastic actions? I would also like to know if you plan on involving us in something dangerous."

Xaveria blew at her bangs and sighed. "Believe me Professor, if the situation wasn't as drastic as it is, and there were more of my organization here, I wouldn't be breaking protocol to ask for civilian help." Glancing once more at Ash she took a deep breath and introduced herself properly.

"I am Xaveria Valley and I'm from the Sinnoh region. I live about five and half miles from Hearthome City, in hidden valley that holds my small town, we call Heartbonded. I am member of the Protectors of the Bond, a secret society that defends and protects the unique bond between humans and Pokémon, as well as sacred treasures and places. Trina is also a member of this group, whose current assignment is to protect, train, and if necessary, give her life to ensure the safety and survival of the Heart of the Pokémon World."

Ash chuckled nervously and raised his hand. "Um that's me, I'm the Heart of the Pokémon World. That's what the special training is really for. Oh, I have powers and can do things most humans can't. I helped save the world a few times."

The rest of the group just looked confused, lost and as Rotom Dex would say, "This does not compute with any known data." Living in Alola, they heard many different legends, but nothing like this. Even Professor Kukui who had visited other regions had a clue what they were talking about.

* * *

Ash asked everyone to sit in a circle, hold each other's hands, and close their eyes. He instructed the Pokémon to touch their trainers during this process. "Time will be distorted during process. While only a few minutes will pass in the real world, it will feel as if hours once the memory process gets started.

The others nodded as Ash focused his energy. An indigo light formed in the middle of the circle twisting and spreading about until it looked like a giant time flower. The petals unfolded and touched the forehead of everyone assembled. There was a surge of energy that zapped through their minds.

Mallow was the first to open her eyes and couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was levitating in the air, semi transparently. All her senses were working just fine and the sight before was amazing.

It was the Sinnoh region thousands of years ago. She had seen pictures in travel brochures of other regions and listened to tourist describing their homes faraway, but seeing this region such a long time ago made her feel very small.

"What did you do Ash? If this is a memory then whose is it?" she asked quietly as the others popped in existence next her. All of them levitating a bit off the ground. They all had their senses, but quickly realized they were the ghosts when the memory super zoomed into a region in an area that would one day become Hearthome City.

"This is the ancestral memory of the Protectors, carefully preserved as one of our greatest treasures, a complete history of our group from the distant past to the present. This will be the best documentary you'll ever watch."

Events of the ancient past started to play before their eyes. Thousands of years ago terrible storms and devastating plagues hit the region causing humans and Pokémon to travel great distances in all directions to try and find a place that was safe to prosper and live. Because of the amount of devastation happening, many groups would leave a weak person behind, or wouldn't offer any help or support, if they encountered other groups.

One group was different. They called themselves the Protectors because they protected anyone, human or Pokémon, from dangers. If someone got lost, they went out to find them. No matter how large the group everyone shared what they had to survive. If someone died, they would be properly put to rest and others would take on their responsibilities.

One day, the group stumbled upon a strange and large hidden valley. Large crystals formed a barrier around the valley, when light passed through them, the narrow entrance was hidden. The valley also had eighteen deep indentations that looked like tectonic plates around the central area. These were filled with tiny fragments that glisten with power and warmth.

The indentation were puzzling, but the valley was protected from the dangers outside. The weather was calm and gentle. There was fertile land and clean water. The plagues had not reached here.

So the Protectors started to make their home there. They knew even with such a large valley, they would have to venture out again to gain valuable resources or to help people. Knowing this, the elders decided only the strongest adults with a strong Pokémon should brave the outside world together. They wore the fragments they found for good luck and to help them find their way back.

Over time the Protectors started to notice difference in them and the same went for the Pokémon. At first many were drawn to a specific Pokémon. Then it was if they could read each other hearts. Slowly the learned to talk to another. The biggest discovery was when an elder and her Pokémon worked together by both using moves to defend their home. It was obvious that the humans had been changed at the genetic level and the Pokémon felt more human in many ways. They had become heart bonded

Several years later, the Protectors got their answers to the questions that had been plaguing them ever since they had set up a home in the valley. The great Arceus came to this valley every few years to shed his outer plate coverings as they grew in size and power. This valley had been where the plates had originated before they bonded to the Legendary, making them both organic and inorganic.

He was astonished and proud of what they had accomplished, he declared the entire valley would belong to the Protectors of the Bond, forever. He charged them with the responsibilities of protecting the sacred bond between a heart bonded pair by protecting the people, the land, and their treasures.

The early Protectors agreed, showing the great Legendary their symbol. Two hearts intertwine with a human face in one and the other a Pokémon. The pendent was purple, the color of noble duty. Before he left Arceus told him to balance the supernatural abilities of the Pokémon, the universe had created the Heart.

The Heart was always a human whose capacity for love and kindness, matched their valor and resolve. Who could connect on the many different levels of the world and be beacon of hope for humans and Pokémon. They were called Hearts for multiple reasons, but the nickname started because when a new Heart was born a rainbow shaped heart would appear over their real one for the first few minutes of the lives before merging together.

The memories sped up until they were watching key moments from Ash's life. Moments he started to use his fledgling Hearth abilities without even knowing it. On the first day of his journey, when he stood up to the angry flock proclaim his dream. He unconsciously called forth the lighting that powered up Pikachu.

There were a few times in Johto that his powers would flare up. Whenever he was around Casey the Electabuzz Baseball team's biggest fan, he didn't realize that he was accidentally synching up with her team, confusing them.

In Hoenn there a tons of incidents when many of his powers started to manifest fully, such as his ability to use aura, and making barriers. There were several times he would start to develop something, but it would vanish.

When the got to Sinnoh, the memory stopped right after his tag team battle with Paul as his partner. After, watching in disgust the way Paul abandon Chimchar in the middle of a battle and then released him to be on his own Ash literally blew a fuse.

"I was angry and fed up with Paul. I had met many trainers who were callous or didn't treat their Pokémon with respect or kindness. What Paul did was the worst and for the first time I used an electrical base attack on him that nearly electrocuted him to death and took out the power throughout the entire city.

"You really did that? You're more powerful than I thought!" Sophocles exclaimed.

Ash rubbed his head in embarrassment and shame. His actions could have killed Paul and lots of other people and it was only luck that he didn't. "Those actions were how the Protectors of the Bond found me. Head Protector Eva brought me back to the hidden valley and explained everything."

Indeed the memories now showed Ash being lectured and shown a crystal gallery of past Hearts and what such power meant. He toured their hold town, learned their customs, and for the first time was able to identify his abilities.

After a few days, the power was fixed in Hearthome and the Tag Battle Tournament would be allowed to continue. Ash had wanted to return to his journey, but that was a problem. Every Heart, once they were found and brought to the valley, didn't leave until they had completely mastered all their abilities. The average age for returning to the world was twenty five to thirty.

"I begged and pleaded with Head Protector to let me go back. I knew that will the different kinds of Protectors and their technology, I didn't have Glaile chance to make it out on my own."

"So this is where Trina's journey with you begins. She agreed to be your personal Protector and trainer, so that you could continue your travels. I'm guessing that Trina submitted reports on your abilities as an exchange."

* * *

Ash nodded as the memories came to a close. He was slightly exhausted by using his memory powers for so long. He needed a recharge so he started to eat what had been left out. The others were still curious about all his abilities so he gave them a copy of the list he'd written for Trina.

Heart Based Powers: Speaking and communicating perfectly in Pokémon language, empathy and memory sharing, and his fledgling healing abilities. There was also his electric based moves, manipulating natural energy, and his ability to synch up with a Pokémon temporarily to see and hear what they saw. Other powers included making other people understand Pokémon speech, his body enhancing techniques and he was getting close to mastering the ability to create protective shields. His latest powers included the Bond Phenomenon, Legendary Call, and his recently increased intelligence potential. He also added that he could use aura and that mastering the Z-ring to the list.

Lillie sat down next to Ash seeing how nervous he was. From what Xaveria was explaining about the reasons she was here and that something traumatic happened between Trina and her parents, she felt Ash had a lot on his shoulders. It couldn't be easy for him.

"I can understand wanting to be normal. I want to be a normal human who can touch Pokémon. It was hard work to get where I am today."

Ash made a noncommutible noise and looked away. He was feeling bad about the way he had been treating Trina and knew this was partially his fault for not being a better friend. He needed to fix this situation. He needed to get to Trina and see if she was feeling any better.

Kiawe looked at Ash and Lillie, seeing his friend in a new light. His childlike attitude was a cover to hide the burden that came with being the Heart. Having nearly killed someone by accident and almost being locked up for years, had scared the teen. He had grown more mature and serious, when it came to training and battling, but having fun also became vital to his mental state.

Steene pulled on Mallow's hand, "Steen ste Steene?" Mallow looked at her confused. "I don't what you are asking."

"She's asking if learning the truth about Ash has changed anything," Xaveria commented off hand. They had forgotten for a second that the Protector could speak and understand Pokémon.

While Lana and Sophocles whispered about all the things they would do if they could do what Xaveria could do, Kukui kept them on track. He remembered Xaveria's early comment and that they were still invisible for a reason. "Do you know who attacked the school and why?"

Xaveria bit her lip and Leon growled. The other feline like Pokémon sat down by her waiting for an answer. "I have a very good suspicion who attacked you, but I need to gather more evidence. As for why the Pokémon, it was a Pokémon, attacked the school? I can only guess that it's related to its master's agenda."

Every screamed when something began banging on the invisible door. There were panic cries and the sounds of something trying to dig through the door. Ash and Xaveria knew instantly who it had to be. Just in case it wasn't who they thought it was they prepared a defense.

"Marla, Gloria, and Ester, formation alpha! Solo and Noir, protect the civilians. Leon by my side." The three females felines took formed a triangle near the door ready to attack. The boys also arched their backs ready to defend the civilians as Xaveria and Leon settled into their fighting stance.

The door was ripped out of its frame by a large amount of grass as Leba ran in looking panicked. Seeing everyone assembled she started talking super-fast, too fast for anyone to catch what she was saying. She jumped and dodged around everyone until she pinned Ash to the table.

"LEAFEON! Leaf leaf Leba Leafeon! Leaf le le leaf!" she shouted at the top of her little lungs.

"Leba calm down! I can't understand you!" Leba refused to calm down. She kept talking and biting at his clothes. She was in such a panic grass was growing all over the restaurant floor. The other Pokémon tried to talk to her and get her to listen to them, but she was refusing. Something was really wrong.

Seeing no other choice, Ash placed a hand on Leba's head and concentrated. He had only done this a few times in the past and it was only for a quick emergency. His aim was for a lot longer than that. A pulse of silver energy game out of his hand and spread throughout Leba's body before pulsing out and entering all the humans and their Pokémon.

The silver pulse vanished and Ash slid to the ground, what little energy he had gained from the food was now gone. "I'm beginning to regret what I just did, but it was the only way."

 _"You could have waited until you full regained your energy. You've pushed yourself to far today buddy,"_ Pikachu scolded his friend.

"No way, did you just talk Pikachu?" Mallow asked in disbelief.

 _"Of course he did, we all talk a lot. Humans just don't always understand us,"_ Steene told her only for Mallow to jump in the air. The other Pokémon asked what was wrong, but their humans were backing away.

"You can all understand Pokémon language! At last I'll be able to have more conversations with both humans and Pokémon," Rotom Dex cheered.

At that exact moment Ash's friends realized he had used on of his Heart abilities to make communication easier, but it had drastically drained him. The teen looked like he could hardly move or speak at the moment.

 _"I wish you hadn't done that, but at least now you can keep pace with me. Trina's missing! She locked me in my Poke Ball before locking it into a drawer and the door to the bedroom! By the time I got free she was gone!"_

* * *

Thirty minutes later the whole group was at Kukui's house. The place looked like it had been ransacked. Furniture was upturned, the TV lay busted on the floor, and the loft was trashed. Downstairs in the lab it appeared someone had tried to get into Kukui's private files and in frustration destroyed the basement lab.

Leba assured them it wasn't like this when she left. Someone must have come in after she went to get help. This destruction while chaotic, seemed to follow a pattern. It was as if the person who broke in knew what they wanted then decided to trash the place for fun.

Nobody was sure what to do. Should they call the police to investigate or try to solve the mystery themselves? Did Trina leave anything behind to explain where she'd gone? Why had she left in the first place and not taken Leba with her?

Leba darted through the mess and entered Kukui's bedroom. A few minutes later she came back out with Trina's bag, containing items she would never leave behind, including her diary and a small photo album she kept with pictures of Trina's Pokémon family.

The girls flipped through it hoping maybe there was some clues in it about where Trina might have gone. The photos were arranged in order that showed Trina with one of the Eevee evolutions and then a picture of them with their heart bonded person. Almost all of Trina's Pokémon family had ended up with either Gym Leaders or Elite Four members.

Glen was sitting proudly next to Candice, a Gym Leader in Sinnoh. Jorgen and Vanessa ended up with Elise and Marlone who were Gym Leaders in Unova while their young sister Esme ended up with Caitlin, a member of the Elite Four of that region. Ember bonded with Malva of the Kalos Elite Four. The youngest Sylvia was the only one to bond with a child from the Heartbonded, called Kiki.

Lillie was the one to notice the tear stains on the pictures. Trina had been brought to tears looking at these photos earlier today. Something about these happy pictures had caused a heartbreak.

Sophocles and Kiawe found two Poke balls hidden in the dresser drawer Trina had locked Leba into. There was a note attached to them saying she had retrieved these two Pokémon for Ash to train with and registered them with him.

Ash, who was sitting on the couch to rest, opened them and was delighted to see Snivy and Heracross. Both of them were happy to see him, but were sad to learn what was going on.

After reading a few diary entries, Xaveria had a mixed expression on her face. "Do you know anybody with a large boat we could borrow?" she asked the professor in a tight voice.

"I can rent one in a pinch. Why do we need a boat?"

 _"Because it appears that whoever attacked the school was driving Trina into a deeper depression and making her feel worthless. Judging by what she wrote, Trina left to find herself believing she was no longer worthy of being a Protector,"_ Leon explained.

 _"I think I know where she's going. She's going to the Isle of the Eevees, a legendary island that pops up all around the world. Only those truly worthy and understand the uniqueness of the Eevees can gain access,"_ Leba exclaimed.

"She…mentioned…once that if she…ever felt lost. She…would seek out… this place… to find out… who she really was," Ash mentioned, a little short of breath.

Judging by the break in and the attack, it was a high possibility that someone was pushing Trina to finding this island so they could find it for themselves. All the entries in Trina's diaries about the legend were torn out. Some tracking equipment was missing as well.

One thing was clear. Someone was targeting Trina and by extension Ash. They didn't have good intentions. This small group needed to find Trina first before the enemy did. Otherwise something really bad was going to happen.


	5. Mysterious Island

**I'm back. Everything has been taken care of in the real world and I happy to be typing again. Sorry its a little short, but I was just getting back into the story. So enjoy.**

Trina was clutching her necklace trying to find some peace in her tormented mind. The last few hours were a complete blur in her mind. She couldn't recall where Leba was or how she had gotten on a boat. She couldn't even figure out how the boat was moving without anyone driving it. All she knew was the tormenting pain in her mind. The pain in her mind then spread across her body causing her to grow weaker and weaker.

"Stop it, stop it, please just stop!" Trina cried out as more visions plagued her mind. She saw herself back in Sinnoh when she was still in school. Xaveria and Leon were challenging her to a friendly battle to see who had taught their Pokémon the best new move, however like all the memory visions, this was twisted about.

 _"Let's see if you have what it takes to beat Leon! I have to say his triple evolution gives him more strength than your double evolution Leba," Xaveria taunted her._

 _"We'll see! Leba show her how well you can battle. Use Magical Leaf!"_

 _"Dodge it and then use Swift!"_

 _Leba ran and jumped over the Swift barely escaping the attack. Leon was already running at her his tail swishing about. Electricity was gathering as he got ready to use his new move._

 _Xaveria friendly face became demonic, her features swiftly changing until she looked like a hairy moss covered monster. "Now the fun begins," she hissed at Trina._

 _"Xaveria?" Leba asked while stepping back. She was very frightened by her friend's sudden change in appearance. "Leba come back here please."_

 _Xaveria spat moss over the two Pokémon turning them into zombies. Trina tried to run but her feet had sunk into the ground. "Now attack her until she's nothing but a bloody stain!"_

 _"LEAFEON!" Leba screeched as she tied up her human with Grass Knot, squeezing her tighter and tighter, making it hard to breath._

 _"LUXRAY!" An Electro Ball hit her right the heart causing her to scream as the electricity tore through her body. She felt her heart fluctuating as it started to burst. She was going to die and no one would care. She was a worthless human being.  
_

* * *

Trina eyes open wide and she frantically looked around trying to spot the Pokémon, but they weren't here. Instead she fell over the seat and hit her head across the deck giving her a minor cut. "WHY? Why must I still be tormented? What is happening to me? How did I get here and why am I here?"

As the ocean breeze prickled her skin, she got up off the floor and decided to try to figure out where she was and what kind of boat she was on. It wasn't a very big boat. It certainly wasn't any rowboat. Judging by the small upper deck and the cabin layout, she was on some kind of small fishing vessel. Why she would have taken a fishing boat out when she had very limited knowledge on how to operate one, was a big mystery to her.

A quick search revealed no one was on board. The wheel was locked and the boat was on autopilot which explained how it was moving on its own. She checked the radar and couldn't figure out where she was on the ocean and how to get back to Melemele Island. For some reason, she wasn't upset about that. Even though she was lost and confused she felt that everything was okay. That she would be safe. Stepping out of the cabin she gazed out across the ocean and saw a small sandbar in the shape of a T in the distance.

A strange sense of familiarity came over her. As if she had seen that sandbar before. In fact, as the boat crossed the ocean she spotted a small reef and saw a huge population of Corsola. Their color wasn't the normal pink and white, it was blue and white, meaning this was a shiny Pokémon reef. Again a sense of familiarity washed over her.

I must have punched in a destination for the boat to go to, but I don't remember doing that. How can any of this be familiar if I've never traveled the ocean before? I'm very confused and lost she thought to herself. Her heart ached as the boat continued on and she was taken even further from her beloved Leba.

She used her communicator to call for help, but all she got was static. "Dang I can't reach Professor Kukui or Ash. Maybe I should try contacting Eva?" A few seconds later she growled. "Out of calling range? How is that even possible?! Even if I'm hundreds of miles away from home I should still be able to connect with the crystal matrix!"

Trina took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "Okay Trina what do you know? You're on a boat in the middle of the ocean heading to some mysterious location that for some reason feels familiar. You have no means of communication and for some reason you can't remember how you got here or where Leba is.

Meanwhile you're still being plagued by dark visions and feeling worthless. Did I have a psychotic break and decide to leave Melemele? But if I did, why didn't I bring Leba with me? I'm so confused."

She sank to the deck and started crying to herself. She maybe a nineteen year old young woman, but inside she was a small child calling out for love and kindness. She wished her parents were here to cheer her up or at the very least Enzo and Una. Those two always knew how to comfort her.

Thinking about her parents and their heart bonded Pokémon made her recall her earlier nightmares. A headache was forming in her head and she felt like her body was turning to lead. She kept hearing those awful words over and over again.

"Make it stop make it stop! All I want right now is a place to find peace and figure out if I really am a horrible monster and failure." She had no way of knowing that by uttering those words, the boat changed course slightly heading further out to sea.

* * *

A few nautical miles back a small yacht carrying Bluff was following Trina's boat, keeping a close eye on the radar. He had gone through a lot of trouble to keep a dazed and slightly crazy Trina under his control long enough to rent a fishing boat, place the stolen tracker on it, and let her set her own course to lose her now. He ha been tempted to stay on the boat and control her until his prototype Ultra Z-Ring nearly gave out.

"Keep the boat steady Zeke, I need to review these notes I took from Kukui's lab. With them, I believe I can finally figure out how to control the power behind Z-moves."

Zeke nodded and told Bluff that he would alert him if there was any changes to Trina's course or someone was following them. Thanking his friend Bluff went down to the kitchen to make himself a snack before getting down to business.

Kukui notes on Z-moves were extensive. He described in detail about how the natural energy produced by the crystals changed into life energy based on the bond between Pokémon and human. Somehow this process unlocked untapped potential and amplified it until it was a Z-move aka the zenith of its powers.

Kukui had written down a few theories about the similarity of key and mega stones to Z-crystals. It was fascinating to read about how he believed that mega stones and their keystones were created in nature due to a combination of energy release from certain Pokémon and a unusual rocks with special properties to contain them power inside.

The keystone was important because without it, the power in the mega stones would remain dormant. Still, it was a mystery of how Pokémon not native to the Kalos region also had Mega Stones. Theoretically the stones could have come to be by traveling trainer or there had been populations of those Pokémon who had died out in that region.

"Hmm, Kukui notes that Z-Ring and the Mega Ring were created to not only channel the power produced by the stones and crystals, but to protect the human from the backlash. Normal humans can't use moves so their bodies would be overwhelmed and burn out if they didn't have these mediums protecting them. I wonder if that means mega stones can be used in Z-rings and crystals in Mega Rings? An interesting possibility."

Bluff decided to leave that particular experiment until another day. Right now he needed to complete his Ultra Z-Ring. He finished with the restructuring of the Z-Crystals and had refined the space metal to steady the amplification process.

Now was the trickier part of his special project. Using special tools he realigned the control knob. It was important to gradually raise the power. "Zeke's attack on Trina was successful, but boosting his powers so quickly nearly led to the destruction of the crystal. A gradual increase in power, will help prevent another overload."

Once he had finished tightening the new control knob, he took out the lower layer of his modified Z-ring. Tiny injectors had been placed under each crystal. They were to tiny tubes which held the biologic samples. In the center was a small sphere with a finite amount of natural energy.

He took out the sphere and studied it under a microscope. The sphere was intact, but the natural energy level had dropped again. "Ugh I need more natural energy to start the process. Even with these biological samples injecting into the Z-crystals themselves, the amplification will eventually shatter the Z-Crystals. In order to gain full control of my targets at once, I need those unique biological samples to stabilize the , modified crystals during the amplification process. Not that it matters if I don't find a way to increase the natural energy in the sphere to start the whole thing."

That was the reason he was here, driving Trina insane so she would go to the mythical Island of the Eevees. If the legend was true, these unique Eevees would be the key to help stabilizing the process and lead him straight to a source of boundless natural energy. Once he obtained both, he would be richly rewarded and his people could start conquering the world! Also their allies would get what they wanted and leave them alone.

* * *

Meanwhile Xaveria, Ash, and the rest of the class had just left Melemele docks and were heading out to sea. The school had ownership over a medium size boat for field trips and visit to the other islands in Alola. With the school closed until repairs could be done, no one was going to miss the boat for a few days.

The last hour had been used to not only to prepare for the journey, but also to cover all their bases. Families had been notified about Kukui taking his class on a short boat trip to calm their nerves while Xaveria handled her own affairs. Ash had alerted Eva what was going on and she made him promise to be extra cautious until he found Trina. Once he found her, he was to do everything in his power, to help her.

Xaveria's cat based Pokémon had tracked down any leads they could find to figure out what type of boat Trina had taken and what direction she was going on. Also they asked the local Pokémon if they had spotted any strange humans or Pokémon that gave off bad vibes. They had come back and relayed what they knew.

A person matching Trina description had rented a fishing boat for the next two weeks and had left heading northeast. The clerk had told them the girl seemed to be running on autopilot and he couldn't even recall how she paid for the rental only that he had received payment.

His loyal Dewspider had told Leon and the other catlike Pokémon that about twenty minutes after Trina left, he saw a strangely dressed human teenager accompanied by a Zoroark, loading strange equipment before leaving the marina on a private yacht. He had been to faraway to get a proper look, but he remembered the boy because his clothes were the same color as his Ultra Poke ball. He also mentioned the Zoroark had been sniffing the air and baring its teeth like it was hungry.

After reporting this to Xaveria, the school boat had departed heading in the same general direction that Trina had gone in. Leba had brought Trina's hair brush, which had a few strands in it, so the Protector's crystal technology could scan the sea and hopefully lock on to her. Their best hope was that it would start reacting once they entered a five mile area in proximity to Trina's pendent.

Xaveria looked up from the computer when she felt Kukui's gaze on her. She could tell he was still looking for answers about what happened at his house and why the school had been attacked. Running a hand through her moss colored hair she went over and closed the door to the cabin. "I can't give you all the answers you want, but I'll try to answer what questions I can."

Kukui nodded and lowered his glasses a smidgen. "You said you had suspicions about who attacked the school and ransacked my lab. Care to share?"

Xaveria leaned against the wall closing her eyes for a few seconds before responding. "The Protectors of the Bond have enemies. Unlike the regional evil team organizations, our enemies would and do anything they can to disrupt the bonds of people and Pokémon. In fact, most of them use a type of corruption in order to carry out their plans."

"Let me guess, ruling the world is one of them?" Kukui asked in disgust.

Xaveria rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Not exactly. Some of them want to use corruption to create human/Pokémon hybrids, others brainwashed soldiers, the most dangerous ones, want to conquer humanity and strip people and Pokémon of the ability to bond."

By the tone of her voice, it was easy to decipher she believed that the last group she mentioned might be the ones responsible for the trouble. Her lips thinned as she spoke cautiously. "The Conquers of the Bond could be responsible for this. They're a splinter group that broke off from us a longtime ago. They believe since we have a unique connection with Pokémon that their destiny is to conquer and rule over ordinary humans and destroy the world, well at least the areas that refuse to submit."

Kukui was in disbelief upon hearing that. It wasn't unusual to hear about groups that wanted power over others, but to destroy the world. "I take it the Protectors and Conquers have had many encounters."

"You wouldn't believe how many times we've had to repel them from our home. Our crystal technology does protect us and we have special Protectors who can wipe memories or knowledge from our enemies, but that they still come after us.

We suspect that their headquarters is in a hard to access part of the Ransei region. Their old fashion feudal system is perfect place to hide and they wouldn't look that out place with the way they dress and talked."

Seeing Kukui's confusion she explained that Conquers wore clothing styles that matched with all sorts of Poke balls and that they always talked with fancy old fashion manners. They also wore red pendants around the neck. They had extensive training like Protectors, although theirs focused on how to defeat your enemies no matter what actions were needed.

So these Conquers like to cause trouble and get rid of anyone who stands in their way of their goals. But, we still don't know why their agent attacked the school or why hurting Trina was so important. Also, what does a mysterious island, have to do with all this? Kukui wondered.

Out on the deck, Leba was explaining the legend to the class, with Ash adding in a few details. " _A very long time ago, shortly after the storms stopped ravaging Sinnoh and the Protectors came to be, a young woman named Elena departed from Sinnoh to see if people from other regions were safe. She was hoping to find others to join in our cause._

 _She sailed for many months, encountering other regions and sharing stories with the people there. She visited the three small regions known as Fiore, Almia, and Oblivia, that later became known as the Pokémon Ranger Trio Region. Some of us believe the idea for Pokémon Rangers came from her._

 _Throughout her travels, her faithful Eevee was by her side, helping her to adapt and push herself to complete her travels. One day, as they were traveling across the ocean the two of them were caught in an unusual fog bank that appeared out of nowhere."_

"Why was the fog unusual?" Lana asked inquisitively. She was fascinated by legends and wondered if she could find a way to make this one scary.

"It's because the fog wasn't a normal color. Instead of being a dirty white or gray, the fog had streaks of color in it. Also it seemed to be alive in some way."

Leba nodded as she continued. _"Elena and her Eevee soon became lost in the fog. Their early navigation tools were no help. Every time they looked at the sky, the stars were different, not matching any of the maps they made. It was as if the fog was dragging them all over the ocean."_

 _"Until they found this mysterious Island of Eevees?"_ Popplio wondered out loud.

 _"Yes, after spending days in the fog their boat came to shores of a strange island. Even as they approached, Elena could see how different the island was. There was a normal beach, but next to it was a huge forest on one side and then on the other side seemed an area of electrical activity._

 _Upon arriving on the island things got even stranger. The duo felt like they were being watched as they traveled across the island. As they went further inland it got stranger and stranger. Until they reached the very center of the island."_

"What was at the center of the island?" Lillie asked nervously.

"According to memory it was a huge city with larger than normal Eevees and all sorts of evolutions, in fact there was one for every type! Surprised by this, Elena and her Eevee learned this island, was where all Eevees were originally found. Some of them had left to uncharted lands for an adventure, taking their secret of their evolutions with them," Ash explained.

"So they were endemic to that island until they left and that's when Eeeves came to the other regions. But why hasn't anyone found a way for Eeeves to evolve in all the different types?" Sophocles wondered.

 _"Because certain secrets were lost when they left. Elena and her Eevee, who eventually evolved into a Vapereon, spent months on the island. It turned out that mysterious fogbank was some kind of portal that protected the island, moving it from one place to the next, keeping the island and its inhabitants from those who would use their unique abilities to adapt and change for evil._

 _It is said that when Elena and her Vapereon left she came out of the fog bank in a completely different part of the sea. She came to an island that had a warm beach, a special bay, and small mountains with a hidden field._

 _She buried the maps deep in the forest to protect the island, but leaving them for future generations should someone else worthy needed to go there. As she left the island guardian told her the maps would be protected forever."_

"So Elena made it back to Heartbonded and stored this memory away in some kind of container?" Kiawe stated still mystified on how you would store a memory.

Ash nodded and explained it had been stored in the Treasure Sanctuary. However since it was such an old memory it had been badly degraded over the years until it became nothing, but a hodgepodge legend. "No one knows for sure anymore if the island really exists or if it's just a story, but every Protector who is heart bonded with an Eevee looks for it at least once in their life, hoping to prove it still exists."

The Pokémon all agreed if they were ever confused and hurting, going home to find some peace and discover if your still worthy of others would be what they do. That desire, mixed with Trina's confusion, had to be the motive for her disappearance and strange actions.

 _"I have a question. If no one knows the island's location and that it moves, how do we expect Trina to find it, let alone us?"_ Snowy asked in a timid voice. The little Pokémon was very nervous about being on the ocean for the first time. At least on dry land Snowy knew he was safe and yes he was a rare male Vulpix.

Ester, the little Litleo stopped grooming herself and responded to the question. _"It is said that those with a deep bond that goes beyond the normal heart to heart can actually feel the island and its inhabitants no matter where in the world they are. From what Xaveria has told us, Trina is far more in tune with all the Eevees and their evolutions back home. She has unique connection with them."_

 _"So if this island is real, Trina will surely find it no matter what. As long as Xaveria is able to track Trina's pendent, we'll also find the island and whoever is after her,"_ Gloria, the Glameow, assured them.

* * *

A loud shriek echoed from the main upper deck. Solo the Purloin ran from his perch on the bow into the cabin scratching at Xaveria's leg and drawing blood. Xaveria was about to tell him to stop when she spotted what had upset him so much.

The boat was heading directly into a squall! The winds picked up as waves crashed against the boat. Rain started pouring from the sky. Kukui ordered the students inside the cabin as they returned all their Pokémon. Ash stumbled to the deck, still exhausted from overusing his power after being purified.

 _"Come on Ash, we need to get inside!"_ Pikachu yelled at his best friend. Water was already starting to flood the deck and anything that was bolted down was sliding across it. Strong waves hit the boat and a chair slid right off the boat. Ash was flopping around unable to get up.

"I'm trying Pikachu… I really…am. But I think… I'm…not as recovered…as I thought." Sitting down and not moving had helped him regain his energy, but moving during a storm had already spent what little he recovered.

 _"Snivy! We need you now!"_

Snivy popped out of her Poke ball and managed to steady herself on the deck. She quickly assessed the situation and told Pikachu to grab her tail and pull once she latched onto Ash with her vines. She wrapped her vines tightly around Ash's abdomen and started pulling him slowly towards the safety of the cabin.

Inch by inch the two Pokémon focused on getting their human to safety. The waves were getting higher and wind was stronger. It was too dangerous for anyone to leave the cabin to help them. With a final tug they managed to make it to the door, which was shoved open as they pulled all three into the cabin.

"We've got them, their okay!" Lillie called out. That made everyone feel better, but the squall was still tossing them around. Everyone was banged up as the boat pitched back and forth.

"Can anyone steer us out of here?" Xaveria exploded as she tried to stay standing up. "Despite being a Protector I have zero experience with boats!" As the boat pitched to the right, Leon snagged the back of Xaveria's shirt pulling her down to avoid crashing into something.

"Lana, is there anything you can do?" Mallow yelled as the boat pitched left as the waves continued to pound the ship.

"Not in these conditions. Our best hope is to try to get out of the squall as fast as we can. We just have to determine how big the storm is and where's the closest edge to drive out of it."

Taking her advice, Professor Kukui took control of the ship and read its instruments. Years of living in Alola and boating trips, helped him navigate the small ship. The rain was still pouring heavily, but in the horizon he could see a patch of sunlight making and calm seas ahead.

We just need to get out of this and we'll all be safe. If we're having this much trouble at sea, I wonder how Trina and her stalker are doing?"

* * *

Bluff was not having a good time. His engines had been tangled up in a large amount of kelp and he couldn't go into the water to cut it off because a group of Sharpedo had decided to circle the boat. These normally solitude creatures had ganged up in order to get the big Dark type Pokemon and the human for lunch.

He could hear them talking amongst themselves arguing who should get what bits.

 _"I want to eat a leg!"_

 _"No, I wanted a leg!"_

 _"There are two of them you dolts! You can each have one, but I want an arm."_

 _"Who care who gets what? Let's just down the boat!"_

Bluff wouldn't be having any of that. He did not steal that tracking equipment and notes to be eaten by Sharpedo before getting his prize. Not to mention he really wanted to settle a score with Trina. He wouldn't tolerate anymore delays. Not with his boss breathing down his neck as well.

"Zeke, come down here right now and deal with these pests!"

" _At once Master!"_ Zeke ran out and jumped around until he was on the edge of the swimming platform. He looked at all the Sharpedos and cast an illusion of him being a Mega Sharpedo. _"LEAVE US ALONE! UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE EATEN YOURSELVES!"_

 _"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ The other Sharpedos left in a hurry not wanting to stick around any longer. Dropping the illusion, Zeke bent down and used his claws to untangle some of the kelp from the motor.

Bluff put on some scuba gear and jumped into the ocean. He swam around to the motor and started hacking away at the kelp. He was in a foul mood and he hoped that this little problem hadn't put him too far behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, Trina's troubles had only started. She was trying to turn her boat around as she headed to an area filled with whirlpools. Since the boat was locked on autopilot she didn't know how she was going to steer away.

"Come on, come on. Turn off you stupid piece of junk. I have to steer around those things unless I want to get sucked down!" Trina had learned about whirlpools in school. While they couldn't drag down large boats like books stated; her small fishing boat could easily get got in the whirlpools and drag her down.

Trina didn't know what to do as the boat inched closer to disaster. If she disconnected the computer autopilot would shut off, but so would most of the boats other systems. If she didn't though, she certainly get swept away by one of the whirlpools.

"I hope I'm making the right choice here," Trina whispered to herself. She found an emergency kit and smashed it down on top of the autopilot. Everything started to spark as alarms sounded, but then the wheel wasn't locked up. Grabbing the wheel, she started to turn away from the whirlpools. The boat refused to turn at first due to the strong currents pulling the boat closer to the danger.

Please if anyone is listening out there, please help me! I don't want to die! Trina's mind raced as she fought harder to steer the boat out of harm's way. She didn't notice the glitter on the whirlpools as they started to get smaller. Nor did she hear the sounds of curious creatures from sea below. They watched and waited to see what she would do.

All she knew was that she steered clear of the whirlpools. Wiping the sweat off her face she sat down on the ground exhausted by the struggle. While she tried to regain her strength the boat mysteriously resumed course and continued taking her further out to sea.

* * *

Two days, they had been on the open sea for two days and still no sign of Trina and any other boat. Every minute that passed it was getting harder to track Trina. Her pendant's signal was getting weaker. Worse, for some reason Xaveria couldn't call back home to ask for assistance. The group was truly on their own.

The class had been on edge since the squall. It appeared something didn't want to make their trip easy. They had run into a number of small problems that had delayed them.

First they had a slight issue when they ran out of gas which shouldn't have happened considering the boat had been filled to the top before it left the docks. Next they had to rescue Sophocles after he fell off the boat and had gotten wedged between some rocks. After that they had discovered half their food was missing. If this bad luck streak continued they would have to return to Melemele island.

The latest problem appeared the Pokémon were getting restless on the boat. Their certainly wasn't a lot of room to run around and some of the bigger Pokémon took up a lot of space, especially Turtanator, Heracross, and Leon. The medium size Pokémon such as Steene and Gloria kept stepping on the smaller Pokémon such as Togedemaru.

" _Watch where you're going you stupid dog! You stepped on my pretty tail!"_ Marla hissed at Snowy.

" _Maybe you shouldn't drag you stupid tail on the ground then."_

 _"What did you say?!"_

 _"Chill out both of you! We're on a mission and we shouldn't fight amongst ourselves,"_ Noir chided them both. " _A Protector needs our help and if we aren't working together, she could get really hurt or whomever is tracking her could take advantage of her."_

 _"He's right, I'm sorry."_

 _"Me too."_

Mallow was in the small galley making some lunch for everyone when Ash walked in looking lost and sad. Pikachu was on his shoulder trying to cheer him up, but the Heart of the Pokémon world didn't want to be cheered up. Instead he took a seat at the small table and slumped down looking depressed.

"Ash, what's wrong? Are you worried about Trina?"

"Not exactly. She's my Protector, but more importantly she's my friend. She's like the older sister I never had and I never told her that. I feel like I failed _her_ instead of the other way around."

 _"You didn't fail her Ash. You're human and you make mistakes."_

 _"I did fail her Pikachu and don't try to tell me I didn't. I was so caught up on being normal for a time that I neglected my responsibilities not only as the Heart, but a friend. I should have noticed something was wrong with her, but I didn't."_

 _"Yeah, but your normally a dunce when it comes to reasons behind certain behaviors."_

 _"What did you say?"_

"Pikachu there's no reason to comment like that. Ash, I can't begin to comprehend what life must be like for you. I don't know if I could handle the pressure of being so many things at once. You did neglect things, but you're hear now in an attempt to fix things. That should count for something right?"

Ash looked at her and said that if he had been more focused on what was important then Trina wouldn't be missing, the attack on the school might not have happened, and they wouldn't be out on the ocean hoping to find a moving island.

"Well you can't change any of that. You can change what happens from now on. When we find Trina, you are going to apologize to her, mend your bond and then you two will continue doing your jobs."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

Back on the fishing boat Trina was still very confused and tired. She had another episode and could feel shame and self-hatred racing through her body. She thought she was seeing things as a colorful fog bank disappeared and she felt the boat starting to slow down.

"What's going on now? Ugh have I arrived at the spot I'm supposed to be at? Is it eternal punishment or am I to be tortured more for how pathetic I am," she cried to herself.

Pulling herself up from the deck, she looked across the water. She was in some kind of bay approaching a large island. Even from the distance she could make out something strange about the island. There was a large beach, but then she saw an electrical storm that seemed fixed over one area. There was a mountain that left one section of the island permanently dark. As she got closer she saw more peculiarities.

"No way, it's not possible. Did I find the Legendary Isle of the Eeeves?" she whispered to herself as her boat guided her towards the shore. Uncertainty was high as she wondered what would be next.


	6. Nature's Beauty

Upon reaching the waters near the sandy beach she dropped the anchor. Once the boat was secured, Trina got off the boat and walked through the tide until she started walking on the sand not believing what she was seeing.

The beach was warm she spotted at least a dozen tide pools. Walking further up the beach she could hear the sound of a river in the distance. "Strange, I didn't see any Pokémon in the bay or the tide pools. Even on the beach I should have run into a Dugtrio or a Palossand by now, but I haven't."

She rubbed her hands along her arms wishing she knew where to go. This place felt familiar and it matched with the vague description from the legend of the Isle of Eeeves. As she continued to walk she felt slightly uneasy.

Trina's eyes darted around trying to find some semblance of life. " _Hello, is anyone out there? I don't know where I am or how I got here. My name is Trina Chrysalis and I'm very confused right now. Can someone help me?"_ Instead of normal speech, she had used a unique dialect that only Eevee and its evolutions would know how to speak.

Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw something splashing in the water. She turned around and tripped over a rock on the beach. Placing her hand on the ground she let out a little shriek. Something buried in the sand had cut open her palm and a few drops of blood had spilled in the sand.

She needed to disinfect the wound before something crawled inside and made her sick. Only then did she remember her predicament. She had no supplies and she had used the med kit to destroy the automatic pilot, which also ruined any usable medical help.

"How can this get any worse?" she cried. Just then another twisted memory plagued her. Tears streamed down her face as thrashed in the sand in pain. This memory was the most painful yet.

 _"Today is a special day! They're coming back from their mission. I can't wait to see them!" an eight year old Trina jumped for joy. Her parents had completed their mission and she heard they had a surprise for her._

 _Leaving the house she ran to the town entrance nearly crashing into Eva. "Sorry Head Protector."_

 _"It's alright young one, but please slow down. You don't have to rush. I'm sure you're parents are eager to see you as well."_

 _Trina looked at the entrance. She could see the outline of her parents and their Pokémon. Soon they would be reunited and they could be a family again. She couldn't stand still anymore. She ran ahead towards the entrance._

 _"Mom! Dad! Enzo! Una!" She was ready to embrace them when the memory twisted. She was hit by an Assurance attack only to scream as her arms received several Bites._

 _A Psybeam and Psychic attack blew her back to the tunnel. Heartbond disappeared. More attacks hit her as she cried out. "Stop stop! Please stop!"_

 _"Just getting rid of a burden!" her mother cackled._

 _"You were the worst mistake we ever made!" her father added as he hit her in the head._

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Trina screamed as she shot up from lying on a pallet panic in her eyes. She was about to start tearing at her skin when she felt a paw on her leg. She looked down and saw an Espeon wearing a sash made of pink and white silk string around her abdomen.

On a small table there were several herbs, berries, and other healing supplies. In fact the room she was in resembled a doctor's office only a bit smaller. Trina was lucky this place ceiling was tall enough to accommodate her height.

"Where am I? What am I doing here?" she asked.

The Espeon looked at her puzzled before responding in Pokémon, but the dialect wasn't the same one that Espeons usually used. Holding up a hand mimicked for the Espeon to speak slower and enunciate her words.

Pretty soon her sharp ears pieced together the dialect. It was a bit old fashion and there were certain inflections she would have to take into account. She would also have to guess at some of the pronunciation. Still she wanted to give it a try.

" _Can…you…_ _ **understand…**_ _I mean…understand me?"_

 _"Yes, your accent is a little off, but you seem to have picked up our language easily."_

 _"I'm famous back home for understanding both basic and Eevee related Pokémon language. I know a lot of different dialects from groups of wild Eeveelutions. I have been called a prodigy."_

 _"You certainly are. My name is Emmy. My friends found you on the beach, thrashing about in pain. We sensed something evil trying to destroy your mind. We brought you back to the city to give you medical attention."_

 _"My name is Trina and thank you. These last few days have been confusing. My mind keeps messing up my memories and I seem to keep getting injured. I need to get back the Melemele Island. You see, I'm a Protector and my job is to take care of the Heart, well it's supposed to be."_

Emmy listened to Trina explain what had happen to her recently and how she ended up here. During the conversation she used her psychic powers to handle the medical supplies to disinfect the wound on her palm and wrap it. She also did her best on the other injuries.

Trina finished her explanation and wondered why she had been compelled to come here. She didn't know why certain things seemed to be familiar to her. After answering a few more questions Emmy told her to get some rest.

 _"I can tell you haven't slept properly these last few days. We haven't been able to completely purge the darkness from your mind. It's hiding in your mind and I can tell is psychically linked to another Pokémon, but not who or where they are."_

 _"Thank you Emmy, your very kind. What will happen to me when I wake up?"_

 _"That is for the Queen and King to decide. You'll meet them and the rest of the city's inhabitance later tonight at dinner. Rest now and know I'll be watching over you."_

While Trina fell back asleep, the door opened and in came Emmy's family. Her daughter, an Eevee named Rhea, who was wearing a light cream and brown sash, and her mate Shadow, an Umbreon, wore a light black sash. Rhea sniffed the girl before her father barked at her to come back to his side.

 _"Sorry, Daddy. I was just curious."_

 _"We need to remain constantly vigil Rhea. We still don't know her intent on being here. She could be a danger to us."_

 _"Shadow, must you always be so serious? The barrier wouldn't have let her come here if she was not pure and she has the gift inside her. Her blood matched that of Protector Elena. This girl is her distant descendant and needs our help."_

Shadow growled reminding his mate that the human, (Trina), had arrived here without explanation and had been harboring darkness in her. A darkness that could spread and ruin tomorrow's event.

 _"Enough Shadow. She's not a danger, you yourself confirmed it when you and the others helped bring her to me. She's a Protector and not just any, she's the one who guards the Heart!"_

Rhea was puzzled by that statement. She was still very young and didn't know everything about the world beyond the barrier. Still she recalled that the Heart was a special human who kept the balance between the Pokémon and humans. This girl, Trina, had been driven here for a reason. " _What's going on Mama? Is this human a danger to us?"_

 _"No, your father likes to imagine the worst type of any situation. I need to inform the Queen and King about her developments. You and your father should get ready for dinner tonight. We'll be accompanying Protector Trina as her escorts"_

Hours later Trina woke up feeling refreshed. For the first time in days, her mind was clear and she didn't feel any negative emotions. She smiled and felt happy. "I feel so great. I haven't felt this good in a long time."

 _"Glad to see you feeling better, but I'm afraid this calm and peaceful state is only temporary. The medicine I gave you can keep back the negative thoughts for a time, but you will have to face them eventually."_

Trina nodded sadly, but at least her mind would be clear for a few days. Thankfully her clothes were intact. Still, she made a fashionable scarf of the white sash on the ground next to her. She crawled out of the room and enter a hallway that a little higher than an average human.

This hallway was clearly dug out, but the tree branches were covering the man made city of marble. Clearly at one time, this island had been inhabited by humans. Exiting the building Trina's eyes widen at she look around in disbelief.

* * *

It was beautiful city made from marble, mud bricks, and minerals. The buildings resembled different Pokémon from all sorts of regions. As she walked across the courtyard, she finally saw other Pokémon. They too came from different regions and wore some piece of cloth of different colors on them. She could see canals, bridges, and roads, all which appeared to be created and meant for Pokémon.

Judging by the strange looks I'm getting, I guess humans don't live here anymore. I hope that won't cause a problem. Emmy nipped at her leg letting the Protector know she was to pick up the pace.

Walking a little faster they came to a building that she could only describe as a palace. It was beautiful made of some kind of stone she couldn't identify. The windows had glass in them and there were fountains and gardens. Climbing the steps she was in awe of this place.

The duo was soon met with Emmy's mate and child. They walked a short distance and there were lead into a dining hall. Again it was the right size for a human, but clearly had been altered for Pokémon use.

A large stool had been brought into the room for her to sit on. They waited to be seated when doors on the opposite end opened and in walked the royal family. Trina tried to keep her jaw from dropping. The queen and king were both unknown evolutions to her!

The queen appeared to be an evolved Normal type that looked a lot like an Eevee, with some differences of course. She was bigger than an Eevee, about three feet tall and weighing forty pounds. Her cream colored ruff had spread forming a dress like pattern on the body. The legs were still dark brown but the paws had gotten sleeker. The tail was longer and the tuff was now braided. There was a similar braid of fur on the neck between the taller ears.

The queen had diadem with a Dawn Stone set inside a full moon. Her mate was wearing a similar crown, but his had a brass sun insert on it. He was also not something she was familiar with. If she had to guess, he sort of reminded her of a prize fighter. Possibly this was a Fighting type evolution.

His coat was two different colors. From the shoulders to the knees and also from his hips down to his knees, were russet brown. The markings reminded Trina of shorts and a shirt. His head and torso were kobicha colored. His tail was long and acted like a kangaroo's giving extra balance so he could kick and punch with his long limbs. His eye were slightly bigger and red, there was some thick fur along his circular face that looked slightly like a helmet. He was at least three feet five inches and weighed sixty five pounds.

That's when Trina noticed the small Eevee, a female wearing a small gold circlet with a star on it smile hesitantly. Her fur was a little spikey, which gave her character.

 _"Your Majesties, Queen Dawna and King Ali, and her royal Highness Princess Aya may I present the Great Elena's direct descendant Protector Trina Chrysalis."_

The royal family dipped their heads and she did in kind. They all sat down. Food was presented to them to all of them and they started to eat. After a few minutes Queen Dawna started to speak, but again Trina didn't understand at first. Having never met this evolution she was having trouble picking up on the subtle parts of speech.

Sensing the problem, Emmy asked the Queen if she could speak slightly louder so that the Protector could hear what she was missing. Queen Dawna nodded, a bit embarrassed. She should have remembered her guest didn't understand their entire language yet.

 _"Apologize Protector, Healer Emmy told me earlier you had some difficulty with our language. I should have spoken more clearly. As Queen of the Isle of the Eeeves it's my responsibility to make sure all guests, Pokémon and human, can communicate clearly."_

 _"Thank you Queen Dawna. I must say, I've never seen your kind or King Ali's evolutions before. Then again, I've never been to a place that has only been spoken in legend."_

 _"So we are a legend in the outside world, well at least we're not totally forgotten. It has been a few thousand years. Our ancestors passed the story of Elena and her Vapereon Treasure through each generation and Emmy has confirmed you're her descendant and have the same gift she did,"_ King Ali informed her.

Trina was surprised by this, but she didn't know what gift they were talking about. She wanted to ask them about it, but held off for now. _"Thank you for helping me earlier. I'm sure Healer Emmy has explained my story."_

* * *

The Queen and King nodded at this. While it had been more than a century they knew that any human who came here, was looking for something. They also were drawn here for a mysterious purpose that changed the island's fate for the better.

In fact, humans were the reason the island existed in the first place. Thousands of years ago, this island was actually part of peninsula of a region, whose name had been forgotten had by a cataclysm events. That was only the middle part of the story.

In the beginning, humans and Pokémon had live together in harmony. All across the unique region, the humans had built cities and habitats for their beloved Pokémon friends. Each city had its own "royal family" of Pokémon that had placed in charge of keeping the cities running smoothly and that their kind had good lives.

The entire region, was maintained and protected by twenty special gems kept in different receptacles. Eighteen of the spheres contained gems related to the different types. The nineteenth represented humans and the twentieth represented the Heart. Each receptacle had been placed in different area of the region to keep the power balanced.

Without them, the region was vulnerable from unforgivable weather and dangers outside. Besides the benefit of protection and maintain the island, these gems also imbued the inhabitants with long healthy lives. As long as no one, messed with them or took one away, the region would know peace.

Until one day a thief. The thief took the most valuable gem, the Heart, for selfish reasons. Most of the inhabitants had tried to catch the thief and return the receptacle to its rightful place, they were too late. When they found the receptacle it was empty, the Heart gem gone.

Soon after disasters struck the region. Floods washed out the fertile lands. A volcano destroyed cities and village. Famine and disease began to spread as the population fell in. The Pokémon themselves became infertile, their powers dried up and many lost the will to live

The only ones who were surviving and thriving were the Eevees because their unique DNA allowed them to evolve to fit the ever changing environment. When it was clear the region was going to die as earthquakes splinter the land apart, the people made a sacrifice so part of their legacy would live on.

They had transferred all the remaining receptacle to the peninsula. The Human gem now stored the entire regions knowledge, arts, and the essences of the people so they would not be completely be forgotten. The Royal Family had been charged with the responsibility to protect the gems and carry on the legacy of the region, only sharing it with people worthy of it.

So with the combination of attacks and a powerful mage, the peninsula became a floating island and everything in the protected barrier, would remain safe. Ever since then the Eevees and their evolutions had thrived and protected their home, only allowing special humans to come visit the island.

* * *

The story fascinated Trina and she couldn't believe it. The island's origins and the way its people lived reminded her of her own home. "I wonder if some of the people escaped the region's tragic fate and made it to another. Still, I can't believe anyone would steal a keystone piece that protect the island for selfish reasons. I wonder if gem is still around."

King Ali responded having finally heard enough English to understand it, even if he couldn't speak it. _"We don't know, none of our human visitors knew what we were talking about, at least the ones would couldn't speak our tongue. Since our island moves around on its own, it is difficult for us to learn what goes on in the outside world. The Pokémon who find their way here bring news, but not all of it is helpful."_

" _I'm sorry to hear that. You said that humans who are worthy make their way here looking for something. I wish I knew what I was looking for and what my purpose is. Then again maybe I was able to find this place because it would make sure I couldn't ruin another person's life."_

Emmy nipped the Protector. She knew that the darkness inside her mind was plaguing her a lot. Whatever emotional the young Protector was going through, it would be better if she solved it sooner than later. The darkness was feeding on the girl's negative emotions making things worse. Once she started feeling more positive, the Protector would feel a lot better.

Trina snapped at Emmy to quit her nipping only to have Shadow get in front of her face. His yellow markings were glowing and he was ready to attack her if she made so much as move.

" _Shadow, back down now! You mate isn't hurt and Trina was only making her desire clear. She won't attack anyone,"_ Queen Dawna stated fiercely. Once Shadow backed down the Queen calmed down her own child as Emmy did with hers. Both little ones had been frightened by the aggression.

Once the little ones were comforted, Shadow apologized for his behavior and Trina said she was sorry that she snapped at Emmy. The Espeon let the Protector stroke her a sign she had accepted the apology. "I don't mean to cause harm. I just don't know who I am anymore. Everything in my life is falling apart."

The little princess looked at the human teenager. She was hugging herself tightly. Her legs shook as the girl couldn't stop tapping on the floor. Her hair seemed to be splitting right in front of her.

Jumping to the floor, Princess Aya made her way over to Trina. She jumped up onto Trina lap and nuzzled against her. She made some cooing sounds and she felt the teenager relax and breathe easier. Trina scratched the back of her ears and the princess was in bliss.

" _Oh, a little to the left ahh I feel so comfortable. Maybe after the Festival of Evolutions tomorrow, you can give me another scratching?"_

" _Festival of Evolutions? What's that?"_

 _"Tomorrow all Eevees that have reached ten years of age are allowed to pick their evolution. They have spent many years learning about different evolutions, roles, all sorts of things to help them decide who they wish to be for the next part of their life,"_ King Ali explained. It was because of the festival tomorrow that everyone was gathering in the city.

 _"This tradition is one of our most sacred ones. So many excited emotions and families coming together as they renew their bonds. Not all Eevees chose to evolve and that's fine. We have an Everstone for them to use. Perhaps witnessing and assisting in tomorrow might help you heal. In fact it may be the reason you're here."_

The thought had crossed Trina's mind. Ever since her emotional downward spiral started she had been feeling lost and depressed. That's when things between her and Ash had gotten worse and then she started participating in fights before getting hurt even more.

Now after nearly four day she was on a legendary island and the Pokémon here said they could help her. Perhaps tomorrow could help her find answers to her problems and move forward.

 _"I would love to participate and see all your different evolutions. I love learning new things about your kind. In fact, can you tell me what you are called and how you evolved?"_

The Queen smiled and walked closer showing off her beautiful body. She was an Eeveon, the Normal type evolution. Only female Eevees could evolve into this form by touching a Dawn Stone. This evolution allowed the female Eevees to gain incredible strength and they were fast, being able to dodge attacks easily. Her ability was Anticipation, helping her sense dangerous moves before they occurred.

King Ali explained that he was a Spareon, a Fighting Type. Eevees evolved into his kind when they learned a move special to the island called Pin Down. Basically the move was the Pokémon rushing forward and using their mouth or arms to flip their opponent on the ground before putting all their body weight on them.

Spareons had great defensive and attack states, but a lower stats for special attack and defense. Still their ability Vital Spirit came in handy because they couldn't fall asleep from other opponents using sleep inducing attacks. It was a wonderful evolution and many Eevees that showed excellent close range battle prowess usually chose this evolution.

While Trina was having a nice time with the Royal Family, unbeknownst to anyone, a second ship had made it through the barrier. The yacht was badly in need of repairs. The barrier had tried to destroy his ship and it was only because of secret weapon he carried upon his person that he had gotten through.

* * *

Bluff wasn't looking so great and neither was Zeke. Zeke had chunks of fur missing. His tail was shorter and his impressive mane looked as if someone went crazy with a buzz cutter leaving zigzags in it.

Bluff himself was dismayed that his sleeves and pant legs had been torn off at the elbows and knees. His glasses had cracked. His hair had pieces of kelp tangled in it. He had a few cuts along his beautiful face. He was a bit angry.

"I never want to go through that again. At least once I get what I want leaving this place will be easy. Now to hide this yacht and get on the island. We have a very small window of opportunity."

Zeke nodded as he steered the wrecked yacht until it was completely hidden behind a rock formation. _"We are hidden and I have engaged the cloaking feature. No one will find this boat. Shall I swim you to the shore?"_

"Perhaps, I would like to take a look at this map first." Bluff carefully unfolded the map that Zeke had stolen from the school. It was very old and fragile. Its cartographer had been Elena and Treasure.

When the Pokémon School was being built they found a buried capsule that held priceless items, including a map of the Isle of Eevees. Most of them had been donated to a museum, but a few had been kept at the school for a variety of reasons. Those fools didn't know what they had found, but Bluff knew. That's why he sent Zeke to get them.

"According to this map and taking in account of the geographical changes over the last three thousand years give or take, while also figuring out the flow of the currents, I believe there is a place we can gain access to and avoid detection."

He pointed to a spot of the map that had been labeled Perpetual Night. According to the map it was always night there. There was tiny inlet that led to the interior of the island. Perhaps even to the center of the island.

He clutched the pendent, his own nature suppressing the hidden weapon inside. Now wasn't the time to use it. "Come Zeke, our future awaits us!" The Conqueror and his Pokémon got in the life raft and headed to the area on the island eagerly.

The skies were growing darker as the waves went up and down. Taking out a fresh pair of glasses from his pocket, he adjusted them and saw the island properly for the first time. It truly was a magnificent natural beauty.

The center of the island, where the city was, acted as the start of the spiral. Round and round it went like a snail shell ending in the bay area around the island According to the maps their trails that connected each section with one another. The area marked Perpetual Darkness was on the far side of the island. The small mountain just passed the city blocked out the light leaving the area totally in the dark.

Tapping the frames of his glasses Bluff activated his night vision. He helped steer the raft towards the inlet. "Keep your ears open and be ready to cast an illusion. We don't know what else lives on this island."

" _I can handle anything living on this island. I'm strong, fast, and I'm smarter than anyone here, except you Bluff. You're the smartest human in the known world."_

" _No need for flattery, we need to keep our eyes on the prize. Now gently steer us into the inlet. We want to get at least six feet in and find a place to hunker down for the night."_

They went as far as they could into the inlet and then pulled the raft ashore. Finding some small trees the too made a little lean to sleep under. While Zeke got the rations for them to eat, Bluff examined the tracker. Trina was definitely on this island. It seemed though for a time her mind wasn't open for more torment.

"A pity, I would have loved to torture her more. Oh, that's an interesting reading," Bluff whispered to himself as he checked something on the scanner. If the scanner was correct he was picking up nineteen different hotspots on this island sending out waves of natural energy.

"Well it seems I've been blessed with great luck. Look at these reading Zeke." The Zoroark looked at them, seeing the small blips get bigger and bigger. _"Natural energy in self-contained state. I suggest taking them before, we conquer the island. Surely they can provide all the natural energy you need to start the process with your Ultra Z-Ring. Do you really think you still need him?"_

" _Yes and not just because I promised our allies a power source to make their project succeed this time. I can recharge the core to full power, but it won't be enough. Everything has a limit. No, if I want this natural energy to self-perpetuate than I'll need him to do it."_

Bluff marked on his map where the signals had originated. He also added some notes of his observations and theories about what the sources could be. After working for a few more hours, he went to bed, a wicked smile on his face.

The next morning there was such excitement in the air. All the Pokémon on the island had gathered together in the city. Food was being served while several flying types did aerial shows. There was even an arena for them to battle and improve their skills.

Trina couldn't help it. She smiling and laughing as she listened to the songs being sung or her amusement over the decorations. She was already feeling a bitter. Some of her confidence had come back. Seeing everyone so relaxed yet excited about the future reminded her of how she was when she was younger. That brought out good feelings inside her.

" _You seem to be having a good time. I can already sense some of the darkness fading away from your mind,"_ Emmy told Trina. The healer was very pleased knowing that as the darkness in the Protector's mind faded, the sooner she would be healed in mind, body, and soul.

" _Mommy, can't I join the graduates and evolve today? Why do I have to wait until I'm ten?"_ Rhea whined a bit. She was jumping around trying to get a look at the class as they prepared themselves for the evolution party.

Trina also wanted to know the answer to that. She knew from experience that most Eevees evolved by the time they were one or one half years old. Some waited longer, but it wasn't ten years.

" _Rhea, the reason young ones wait until their ten is because they need to experience and be well rounded to make a choice. What you chose to be affects not only you, but your family, where you'll spend most of your time and learning a whole new style of fighting. You might not be able to visit your friends or have a friendly battle without hurting them. There are eighteen choices to make or you could stay the way you are. Evolution is the ultimate decision to make. Don't be so eager to rush in and pick something that doesn't feel right to you."_

"That sounds like very good advice to me. On your island you have the time and luxury of making a choice. In the outside world many Eevees evolve for their trainers and I heard some of them were not happy about what they were evolved into. I can't wait to learn about the other evolutions and see what they look like."

Emmy nodded. Shadow appeared and told them it was time for the main event. They all went over the central courtyard where there were twenty six Eevees wearing the same sash as Rhea and Aya, only they had gold pins on them, probably as a graduation gift.

* * *

Everyone was waiting in anticipation for ceremony to begin. Standing on balcony looking down was the Royal Family. _"Welcome everyone to the Festival of Evolution! Today is on the most important traditions on our island. These young Eevees have completed their schooling and are ready to begin the next phase in their lives!"_ Queen Dawna addressed the crowd.

Cheers and stomping could be heard as the excitement spread. King Ali spoke next. _"We are very pleased by this year's class. Each one has worked hard to earn their right to be here today. As per tradition, any Eevee who doesn't want to evolve, please step forward so that you may receive the blessing of the Everstone."_

The doors to the palace opened and very large Eevee carrying a red velvet pillow came out. On the pillow was a gleaming Everstone. Two young Eevees stepped forward and touched the stone. The stone flashed and the two stepped back.

Their sashes reversed the colors indicating they were now grown up Eevees. The large Eevee congratulated them and told them they would be assigned their new job tomorrow. For now they could watch the rest of the age mates make their choices.

" _The first selection has been completed. We shall continue our festival by heading to the next area for evolution. However we'll be doing things a little different this year. As most of you know, we have a special guest. Protector Trina, direct descendant of Elena."_

Everyone looked at her and she waved nervously. "Oh hi. I'm very pleased to be part of this tradition. I love learning all about Eevees and their evolutions. I'm excited to see everyone take their new forms."

They all bowed to her and may welcomed her. It was great honor to have a descendant of Elena at this year's festival. She mentioned she had seen or knew how ten of them evolve and couldn't wait to see the other eight.

" _Because our guest knows some of our evolutions from what she's seen in the outside world and learned from my mate and me, we thought it would be a wonderful chance to show her the ones she hasn't seen yet. So this year we'll be starting in the Skyswept Canyon!_

* * *

Everyone made the trip using the different trails to lead them in the right direction. They were well kept and even had tiny signs with pictures to tell the Pokémon where each path led. As they got closer to the canyon, Trina noticed several Flying types soaring on thermals.

Upon reaching the Canyon she couldn't believe what she was seeing. There were several Eevee looking Pokémon soaring in the sky. One of them landed and she could tell it was a female. She was greeted by a male Eevee who looked to be the same age as Aya and Rhea.

The two little females got excited and called out to Angelo, the young one's name apparently. The little one looked at his mother who nodded. The little one ran as fast as he could over to Rhea, who was standing next to Trina. A few minutes later, Princess Aya joined them.

" _Mother said I could spend the festival with my friends as long as you watch over us."_ The princess looked very excited to be with her friend and spend more time with Trina. Looking at the trio, Trina was sure she could keep them safe.

They all returned their attention to Angelo's mom, who was named Amelia. _"I'm very pleased that three of you have decided to become Avieons. The Flying type evolution is one of the most difficult to master. You must be brave, strong, and smart. Flying can be dangerous so you must respect the skies. I hope you are ready for this."_

Amelia brought out three Sharp Beaks that had been hidden in a hole. The three youngsters picked them up as the crowd began to cheer for the trio, telling them how much they loved them. Jumping into the air the change took over. The bright light of evolution covered their bodies as they began to change. They grew bigger, wings sprouted and the color changed.

When they landed they looked very different. The newly made Avieons had grown until they were 3 feet in height, but their weight was only about twenty pounds. Their coats were sky blue and their feathers were white. Their face was still the same shape, but their eyes were now stormy grey. Their ears angled backwards had feathers on them. The legs had grown a bit with feathers around the ankles. The wings were on the back resembling angle wings. The entire tail was feathered to help with steering.

" _Avieons have bones with air pockets to help them fly. Their feet have been designed to cushion their landing,"_ Angelo explained. These Avieons were a beautiful sight to see. Their sashes were now light blue with a white stripe. _"Did you notice something special about the evolution Protector?"_

" _Yes, you need high friendship in the day along with the Sharp Beak for this evolution. It was such a beautiful sight. I wonder which one I'll see next!"_

The next place they traveled was a bit like a jungle. In fact the name of the place was known as the Buggy Jungle. Everywhere she looked she saw Bug types living peacefully and having fun. "So I guess it's time to see a Bug Type evolution. I wonder what causes this evolution.

The group stopped in front of a bunch of a berry trees. One Eevee walked forward with determination in his eyes. From somewhere in one of the trees a buzzing voice spoke. _"So only one of you was up to the challenge of becoming an Insecteon? A pity, but then again a life such as this one isn't for everyone. Last chance to back out."_

" _No! I'm determined to be an Insecteon! I will prove myself worthy!"_ The male Eevee started eating tanga berries from bush. Once it ate three berries he called out to his challenger, who dropped out of the tree.

Insecteons certainly were different than any evolution Trina ever saw. They weren't much bigger than Eevees, gaining only five inches and their weight increased by only two pounds. This evolution had thin green hairs that turned into a chiton, the material found in exoskeleton over the main body. The tail ended with a stinger. The snout had turned into a proboscis and the ears had all but disappeared as a set of antennas sat between them.

Trina watched the battle with intensity. The Insecteon was very fast and knew how to use the environment to his advantage. His antennas picked up on the subtlest of movements helping him dodge.

The young Eevee was determined and with quick attack and bite defeating his opponent. All at once he changed into an Insecteon as his sash changed to light green. The young male was exploring all his different features.

" _So I don't understand. Was because he ate the berries that he evolved or was the battle that changed him?"_

" _Both. The only way to evolve into Insecteon is to eat three tanga berry treats and then defeat a bug type. The berries prepare the body and as they fight the bug type their skins molt covering the Eevee. By defeating them, the molts take over and you have an Insecteon,"_ Rhea explained _._

It appears the evolutions here are complicated. Perhaps that's why no one's seen the other evolutions before. It certainly is a privilege to be here today. The group was heading to Dragon's Playground. The unity and rituals kept reminding her about how she had worked hard to become a top protector. It was her dream to become the Protector of the Heart.

I wanted this, I worked for this. I earned this. I'm a good person. Everyone back home celebrated when I gained my rank. Even my parents did. Once again mixed emotions built up, but Trina pushed them away concentrating on what was happening now.

* * *

The Dragon's Playground really was a place for dragons to play. She was still shocked a bit when saw other Pokémon besides the Eevees and evolutions. There were Dragonite's flying in the sky and Flygons were playing in the sand. Young Bagons played on a seesaw having fun together.

As they got closer she heard Shadow calling out. _"We need it dark everyone. Do your best and if it doesn't work we'll go with Plan B."_ All around the Dragon Types, some Ghost and Poison types were making an artificial night.

" _Why not wait until it's actually night for the evolution? Are you doing this for me?"_

" _Not exactly. Every year we start of in the order of how many students want to evolve by type. By the time we get down with this part of the festival, everyone is eager to eat, share stories, hang with family. So certain years we create an artificial night to help move things along,"_ Princess Aya informed Trina.

"Producing an artificial night, I wonder how that affects others and if something like that could come in handy for other scientific endeavors." By now Trina understood how the ceremony worked.

An elder evolution type would call out to the graduates, challenging them and reminding them of strengths and weakness of each type. Once the evolution was complete their sashes would change color to match their new type. They would be cheers and praise, before the rulers announced the next area to go to. It was a very efficient process.

Two male Eevees held Dragon Fangs in their mouths listening to everyone cheering for them. The artificial night worked as they evolved into Drakeons. This evolution was packed with power, this evolved form was four feet tall and at least a hundred and twenty pounds.

Scales of blue, red, and purple dotted their body. The paws had transformed into five fingered claws. They still had fur running down the head, neck and also on the tail. Horns had popped out of their heads and their ears became more curved. Tiny teeth could be seen even with the mouths closed. This was one awesome Dragon Type.

" _Drakeons are so cool! They're so tough, powerful and intimidating. I think I would love to be Drakeons when I reach my graduation,"_ Angelo yipped. Rhea laughed saying he would be too scared of his own shadow to become one. He nipped at her, but didn't argue.

The tour continued going through the mineral group. Ground, Rock, and Steel types. These three areas were connected through crisscrossing paths with each other. Most of them led up to the mountain, but one path was blocked off. When Trina asked about it, she said that only certain Pokémon were allowed up there because it was dangerous for younger Pokémon.

The first part of the area had a lot fertile soil and mud pits to play in. There was also large amounts of sand all over the place. A quick glance at the remaining seventeen Eevees she wondered if there would be certain evolutions wouldn't be happening today.

She let out a shriek as vicious sandstorm started up. She used her sash scarf to cover her nose and mouth as she backed up a little. The young ones did their best to block the sand from her.

" _Sorry, but Dusteon only evolve at level thirty and in a sandstorm! It's one of the messiest evolutions,"_ Rhea whispered as the sandstorm started to die down. The four of them started to brush the dust away while the newly evolved showed off their bodies

Dusteon apparently were the color of dust, a light brown yellow. Their body had been become leaner, their paws more adapted for digging, and eyes and ears had changed to deal with living in muddy or sandy areas. Their tail resembled a fan. They were approximately two feet five inches and thirty two pounds.

The next two evolutions included Pebbleon and Metaliceon, Rock and Steel types. Both required unique things to evolve. Pebbleons had to touch a Gritstone, (real rock), to evolve. Metaliceons needed to be in area with a strong electromagnetic field to transform.

Pebbleons were a light gray with sandstone colored patches on their legs. Their ears were much bigger to help pinpoint sound. The tail was slightly curved, it could be used like a catapult to launch rocks. The evolution face was slightly bigger and wider eyes. Three feet point one inch and eighty pounds. It was amazing how strong they were.

Metaliceons had to be the shiniest evolution. The fur harden until it was the same color of pure steel. Special plates covered the back, tail, and feet. Each feature was wider too helped to stay upright in different environments despite their weight. The tail itself looked like a sword blade. The ears had shrunk to be closer to the head. Their faces were more shield like the eyes were two different colors. The right eye was read and the left eye was gray. They were five feet and eighty five point two pounds.

* * *

" _Before we move on to the Soul Plains, I suggest we each stop and have something to eat. I'm sure our graduates are very hungry and thirsty. So please tuck in,"_ Queen Dawna instructed the group.

Adult Eevees started passing out food and drink they had been carrying during their travels. The newly evolved Pokémon were getting their first taste of their new food and were talking with each other about the taste.

Trina took a sip of her pinape juice as she listened to the little ones conversations about the food the older folks were eating.

" _Yuck, I can't believe Pebbleons have to eat rocks,"_ Rhea shuddered as she watched the newly evolved Pebbleon lick a rock full of minerals on it. It appeared like some Pokémon they needed to get extra minerals to keep healthy.

" _You think licking minerals is yucky? If there's one thing I wouldn't eat it's the carrion. Why do Insecteons like eating that? They can eat berries and honey, but they chose to eat that for their primary meal?"_ Angelo stuck out his tongue and whimpered at the sight of dead meat.

" _I'm not too sure about what your mom eats sometime Angelo. Why do you guys eat eggs? Don't you know those are possible Pokémon waiting to be born?"_ Princess Aya questioned.

"I'm sure the Avieons only eat bad eggs that won't hatch. Back home I had to try a lot of different foods. Some I liked, others I didn't. The important thing is to try new things. I remember Ash trying my cooking for the first time. He didn't want to eat it, but he did and enjoyed."

That was a happy memory. She could feel something trying to twist it, but she refused to remember it any other way. Her head started to ache and her hands shook. "No no, no!" The pain stopped and she took a few deep breathes.

The little ones looked at her puzzled. Rhea and Aya knew that the Protector was fighting some kind of illness, but they didn't understand what it was. Angelo just appeared perplexed by the whole thing. "Don't worry about me. I'm ready to go."

As they enter the Soul Plain the air got colder. Spooky trees and twisted plants grew here. Lanterns hung from the trees to light up the area and there was a lot of gravestones around. It was a spooky atmosphere.

When the Ghost types started popping into existence she found herself holding all three young Eevees. They were really scared. None of them wanted to be here.

" _Do you mind not playing tricks on the little ones? I know Ghastly, Haunter, and Gengar like to play around tricking people, but it's not necessary to make the little ones upset on purpose."_

Surprised by the fact the human was speaking their language, the three Pokémon backed up. Trina hugged the little ones and kept them close to her chest. She had a feeling none of the trio would want to evolve into a Ghost Type.

It turned out evolving into a Souleon was very simple. A male Eevee had to touch a Dusk stone to evolve. It appeared that this was the counterpart to the Normal type evolution.

Souleons were white in color. The back side became transparent revealing their bones. Black rings formed around the rim of the eyes which were now golden. Little claws popped out of the front paws. The remaining fur was wild and crazy, the head was rounded and long. The ears stood straight up. This evolution was different than others. While they remained the same height, their weight went down to seven pounds making them the lightest evolution.

* * *

The next place, Barren Swamp, was where the last evolution Trina hadn't seen yet occurred. It was very exciting for her. She couldn't wait to meet the last one.

 _"Be careful when you walk. It's not just the Pokémon you have to worry about, it's the mud. Marshes, Swamps, even wet fields of flowers, are needed to for this evolution. However if you get stuck, no evolution,"_ Princess Aya told the little group.

 _"Also be careful when touching a Punctureon. They release poisons if they feel threatened or you touch them in the wrong spot,_ Rhea added.

Upon seeing a Punctureon, Trina saw how dangerous they could be. They were plump colored with tiny poison tipped spikes coming down from the top of the head all the way to the tail. The legs had shortened a bit to make room for the pink sacks of poison attached to them. Their eyes had gotten bigger nearly taking up half the face. The ears and snout were still the same, though their tongues were now forked. At four feet two inches and weighing twenty seven pounds, they had the speed and protection to switch from offense to defense rather quickly.

 _"Punctureons have to be very careful when interacting with others. Most carry pecha berries with them to help cure anyone they accidentally poison,"_ Angelo mentioned to her. That was a good idea.

These eighteen different types are amazing and we adapted to each of their environment. It's wonderful to see them all getting along and helping one another. This community is one worth protecting from harm. Just like it's important for me to protect Ash from harm. I wonder how he's doing right now.

* * *

At the moment, the school boat had come to a stop just beyond the barrier walls. The engine wasn't fried and they had plenty of gas, but for some reason the boat refused to move forward.

The students assembled on the deck with their Pokémon. They could see the island two miles from their position. It was hard to make out details from this far out.

"Can you see if that's the island we're looking for Professor?" Lillie asked.

Kukui took out his binoculars and took a look. He could barely make out the beach, but he did noticed the boat anchored in the bay. "That boat matches the description of the boat Trina took. Can you contact her?"

Xaveria tapped her communicator, but something was interfering again. She couldn't contact anyone. She touched her pendent focusing on Trina. She pictured her friend alone and scared. Xaveria thought about finding her and that the two teens embraced. Still nothing.

"I can't find Trina from this distance. This place is sacred and something about it is making communication features fail. I reached out to her, but no response." Stepping out of the boathouse she called out to her Pokémon. _"What do you see? Are there any dangers we should be looking out for?"_

 _"As far as I can see there are no hidden vessels and the sea looks calm,"_ Leon replied from the helm. He was using his unique eyes to look for any danger. If there was a Conqueror out here, he was going to find them.

Marla was working with Steene asking for a boost. _"Steady, okay a little closer to the side and stop! Can you hold me up a bit higher?"_

 _"I'll do my best, but please hurry."_ Marla scanned over the waters looking for any currents that could help. _"Okay put me down. Xaveria, there's a current a few notches over that can carry the boat to the shore. We should hurry, I don't know how long it will last."_

 _"The sooner we get moving the better. That barrier is moving in on us. If we get swept outside, I doubt we'll be able to find this place again,"_ Gloria said. She, along with Mallow kept their eyes trained on the barrier and could see it crawling closer.

Lana, Popplio, and Ester had dived over and were looking at the engine seeing if they could figure out why it wasn't working. Sophocles and Togedemaru, along with Noir and Solo, kept a lookout for trouble. Kiawe was wondering if he could use Turtanator to create a flare.

Meanwhile Ash was meditating with Pikachu. They took deep breaths and relaxed their bodies. A few more deep breaths and Ash reached out looking for aura. Every living thing had aura and if he could find a specific aura he might be able to lock on a Pokémon willing to help.

Ash felt his aura plunging through the boat moving across the bay and then going into the sky searching for life. Finally he latched on to someone or perhaps more than one. A huge school of Bruxish were passing near the boat.

Ash felt his aura connect with the head of the school mind. In seconds he was seeing and hearing through the Bruxish's eyes and ears. _"HI, my name is Ash."_

 _"Get out of my head human before I tear it off!"_

 _"Please calm down. I'm the Heart and I was hoping your school could move out boat to the current leading to shore."_

 _"Why should we? What have you done for us specifically?"_

 _"I have some Pokémon Beans, their yummy treats and they improve health and stats. You move the boat, I'll give you all the treats you want. I'll just be keeping an eye on you."_

 _"Fine. Be ready to pay up."_

Ash felt his mind split in half. Part of him was swimming under the boat and using Psychic to move the boat. He watched as Lana, Popplio and Ester help move the boat. At the same time he could see the rest of his friends yelling and stumbling on the deck as the boat moved until it was in the current and heading towards the island.

Snapping his mind back into place, Ash stayed sitting until the vertigo passed. He always seem to get it when he used his ability to see and hear through others.

 _"I'll get the treats. Lillie can you help Ash to the railing?"_

"What?! Oh, yes. Yes I can." Lillie had Ash lean on her. She kept him steady as they walked to railing. Looking down in the sea where a whole school of Bruxish snapping their jaws for food was scary. "Those are some scary Pokémon."

"There only scary if let them be. Pikachu, you have the snacks?" Pikachu rand over and handed his friend the huge bag of Pokémon Beans. Tearing it open Ash flipped the bag over and let the treats fall into the sea.

Lillie shrieked as the Bruxish started chomping down on the treats. _"Yummy! Move over I want that one! You can't have that I already took a bite out of it."_

"Why are they so violent with one another? Can't they share their food?" she demanded.

 _"Probably not. They don't have anyone teaching them good manners like you did for me,"_ Snowy commented as he came over to Lillie's side. He rubbed against her ankle comforting her.

"Well despite their table manners we're back on course to the island. This current should bring us close enough so we can swim to the shore," Mallow pointed out.

"The sooner the better. My Protector instincts are telling me something seriously bad is going to happen soon," Xaveria told the group. Her eyes narrowed on the island as shiver went down her spine. Even with her gear not working properly she could sense something was off.

* * *

A short time later they were on the beach amazed by what they could see. The island really was a paradise for all eighteen types. Ash was the first to spot Trina's boat further down the beach. "Come one we have to check it out!"

They boarded the boat and looked for clues. They checked every inch of the boat. The engine was running fine, but the controls were busted by look of things. They found several scratch marks and some blood droplets

The Pokémon sniffed the blood drops and confirmed they belonged to Trina. There was also the lingering feeling of evil. Whatever had happened on this boat had pushed Trina further to the edge.

 _"There's not enough blood here to indicate a serious injury. More likely she hurt herself when she destroyed the autopilot for some reason. I'm going to see if I can pick up her trail,"_ Leon informed the others.

He used his special eyes and could make out a faint outline of a city in the distance. He could see all sorts of shapes moving around. He could make out a few flying types, but the majority seemed to be on the ground. That's when he saw a human outline appear in the city.

 _"I see what looks like a human in the city, but I can't be sure it's Trina. Also I can't say for sure what Pokémon are there. I could see a few of them, some Flying types, but most were on the ground."_

"It's our best lead. We should head to the city. Gloria, Solo I want you to return to your Poke balls. If we're ambushed it would be a good thing to have a hidden ace."

The two male catlike creatures nodded and let themselves be returned. Ash released his Heracross. "Heracross please lead us through the paths and make sure we don't get stuck in tree roots okay?"

 _"Don't worry I will. I also had enough sap to fill my tummy up for the day."_

The group followed Heracross through the trail leading to the city. Everyone kept an eye out for signs of trouble. The hairs on their body were standing up. All the Pokémon kept turning their heads trying to catch a glimpse of what could be hiding in the shadows.

They reached the city and their jaws dropped at the sight of the palace. Then their jaws dropped further when they saw the festival continuing in the courtyard. So many different Pokémon and there were evolutions they had never seen before.

Suddenly the group was surrounded on all sides by the different evolutions. They were all growling at them, hissing warnings. They started to move them towards the dungeon when the Royal Family and the graduates returned

No one had noticed how late it was getting so they were surprised by the return of the graduates so suddenly. They all stared at one another until someone called out, "What are you all doing here?!"

Trina set the little ones down and made her way forward. She kept rubbing her eyes still in disbelief that anyone would come after her. That's when she spotted Xaveria. The scary memory popped in her mind.

"Xaveria! Please don't hurt me!" she yelped taking a few steps back.

Xaveria flipped her hair back before putting one hand on her waist. "Why would I even try to harm you? I'm your rival not your enemy. Not to mention one of your best friends."

Trina's head started to hurt and the peace she had been feeling was starting go away. "No, no, I don't want any bad memories. Please stop."

" _Trina! Let me pass, she's my heart bonded human! She needs me!"_ Leba begged. As her human started to scratch at her head again, Leba leaped over the group and darted towards her human. Standing on her hind legs she started to nuzzle her trying to calm her down.

 _"Leba? What are you…how did you find me? I thought I lost you. Did I hurt you?"_

 _"No, I'm fine. You just put me in my Poke ball. I'm okay. Whatever is going on please let us help you! I know you've had a lot on your mind especially since that day, but please Protectors are stronger when they work with their heart bonded Pokémon."_

Trina cuddled her friend knowing Leba was right, but she was still afraid. What if this was just a dream or worse, a trick to gain her trust before hurting her. " _I don't know who to trust anymore. Something is wrong with me. People hate me so much and I never can do anything right."_

"No, that's not true Trina, I should know. You've never tried to hurt me," Ash told her. As she looked at him he slowly approached her. He was glowing letting a bit of his power shine through.

The Pokémon all started to bow in respect to the Heart. He walked slowly showing he wasn't going to do anything to her. "I'm sorry Trina. You were right, I was neglecting my duties. Do you know that getting tuckered out after using my abilities for a short time? I don't have any endurance for them."

"Training Pokémon is one way to get strong, but you have to practice and train yourself too. I'm surprised though, you managed to help everyone here understand Pokémon. That says that your powers are growing."

 _"They sure are growing stronger, but Ash is still a knucklehead at times. He needs to learn not use so many in a row without resting. Only you can teach him that. Please come back with us Trina. We miss you."_

"What if I fail again? I'm sure that Xaveria has told you what's wrong with me. How can you even want me as your Protector?"

Ash told her Xaveria had indicated that something terrible had passed the last time Trina was home. She also told him a lot of time passed and whatever was wrong hadn't been fixed. "I don't know what happened to you, but we can work together until you feel better. You don't have to be alone."

Hesitantly, she took a few steps towards Ash. He waited for her to come to him. Within seconds she was being embraced by him and others were coming over promising to help her and invite her to stuff. She didn't have to stay out of sight all the time.

Everything was going great until the island started to rumble. Looking up at the mountain, colorful lights were shining and fading. Parts of the island started break. That could only mean one thing.

 _"Someone is draining the receptacles, their under attack! We have to stop whoever is messing with them or history will repeat itself,"_ Queen Dawna shouted. At that moment everyone knew that this rescue mission wasn't over just yet.


	7. Survivial Trial

Without a second thought, everyone was hurrying up to the mountain, save for the three little ones. The Avieons, along with Rowlet and Heracross, flew ahead as the rest of them ran up the mountain on the forbidden trail.

"The receptacles housing the gems, the humans hid them in the mountain didn't they?" Trina demanded as everyone hurried up the trail. She kept pressing her communicator trying to access her crystal tech to help them get to their destination quicker.

Queen Dawna nodded. _"It was the only place they would be safe and protect the whole island due the mountain's position. We have guards stationed there and we check on the receptacles every few months to make sure they aren't broken."_

 _"It makes no sense though. The only ones who could make it through the barrier are noble ones. Besides the guards there are traps everywhere in the cave to prevent another theft,"_ King Ali yelled in confusion and anger.

"What would happen if the receptacles were broken and gems stolen?" Professor Kukui asked as the group took a shortcut up to the cave. Ever since the school was attacked things had been getting crazier and crazier.

"This entire island would be destroyed and everyone on it would die. At least according to legend about the island," Xaveria stated with deadly calm. She had switched into full Protector Mode.

 _"Pick up the pace! We need to reach that cave as quickly as we cccaaannn!"_ Shadow shouted only to tumble the ground as the mountain started to shake more.

Everyone tumbled to the ground as the path ahead started to split open. Mallow and Lillie screamed as the ground caved away and they started plunging down.

"HHHHHEEELLLPPP!" Lillie shouted as they fell. Thin vines snaked out to the two girls and wrapped around them. Snivy had popped out of her Poke ball as she dug into the ground. She was grunting as she struggled to get the girls out of there.

 _"I can't pull them up! They're too heavy!"_ Snivy cried out. The ground beneath her was threatening to crumble as well.

 _"Hold on! Help is on the way!"_ Steene shouted as she ran/skipped over to Snivy with Snowy right behind her. The two Pokémon grabbed Snivy and started pulling her back. Slowly the girls were pulled out of the fissure. Once they were safe Kiawe and Lana set about making the path stable once more.

"Turtanator Flamethrower!"

"Popplio Bubble Beam!"

The combination of fire and water created new earth to fill in the gaps so no one else fell into any fissures. Ash was helping Sophocles up as Pikachu checked on everyone.

"That was too much for me! There's no data to support this destruction!"

 _"Keep it together Sophocles, things are going to get worse before they get better!"_ Togedemaru told him. For once she wasn't going all over the place. This wasn't a game.

Behind them there were sounds of destruction coming from the city. Trina whipped her head around and saw smoke coming from the city. From her position she could see the electrical storms exploding all over the beach. The geysers in the Fire Hotlands was flooding the Grassy Meadow. "The whole island is out of whack!"

"Leon! What do you see down there?" Xaveria commanded.

Leon used his special eyes to scan the island as Ash connected with Rowlett to see what was going on up ahead. Both Rowlett and Leon were horrified by what they saw going on.

 _"I don't understand what I'm seeing! The Eevees and their evolutions are under some kind of attack. These different colored beams are trapping them."_

 _"I'm at the cave entrance! The guards up here are bleeding and chained up! Whatever happened to them was a blitz attack!"_

Ash relayed the information the group. Hearing about the different color beams, Kukui asked what color was trapping the different Pokémon. It soon became obvious was going on.

"Those beams, they must be produced by the receptacles. The different colors represent the classification color of move types. The Pokémon are being trapped against the types are super effective against them."

Kiawe was wondering something. He asked if the beams were capturing any Pokémon that weren't Eevee or one of their eevolutions. After a quick check Leon confirmed that the other Pokémon weren't being captured. Something was pushing them off the island.

* * *

"Chargebug come on out!" Sophocles shouted.

 _"I'm here! What do you need powered up?"_

"Can you power up my minicomputer or the Protectors' devices?"

 _"I could if there wasn't a tech blocking net. I'm not close enough to a gap to bypass it."_

Queen Dawna and King Ali combined their powers to turn of the tech blocking net fully. It had been another precaution, a way to prevent outsiders from using any device that could reveal the island and its secrets, to the outside world.

Immediately the two Protector's and Sophocles started using their tech and resumed their fast pace up the mountain. Well technically, the big boned boy was riding on Leon as Snivy held him and Chargebug on his back. The other Pokémon had formed a protective guard around the humans and the queen and king.

"These readings are off the chart. Something is boosting the power of the receptacles. Somehow it's twisting the gems power to capture those its wants and repel the ones it doesn't," Trina said as she jumped over rocks. She had never seen anything like this. Not even back home, in the Treasure Room or the Hall of Memories. This was something completely new.

The closer they got to the cave the more negativity seemed to seep into Trina. She was struggling to keep moving. It was taking all she had in her to push it back down. Ash grabbed her hand and sent calming waves into her mind. She smiled at him thankful for his help.

Xaveria frowned as she looked at the readings on her computer. She wasn't surprised by the natural energy readings. No, what was startling is she was picking up a faint trace of natural and life energy mixed together in the cave. She wasn't sure what it meant. "I'm getting faint readings of Heart Energy coming up ahead."

"Heart energy? But that's impossible I'm the Heart and I'm right here."

"Not to mention the receptacle with the gem was stolen thousands of years ago."

 _"We can worry about that later. We're here!"_ Emmy shouted. Indeed they had reached the opening to the cave. In the sky above Rowlett and Heracross, were dodging aerial traps, mainly bolos being fired from some hidden rudimentary cannons.

However Emmy and Shadow's eyes were on the ground. All there friends were trapped in those strange beams. Some of them had opened wounds and their bodies were missing certain parts. The entire guard had been defeated! That was unheard of.

Emmy ran to help the wounded with Shadow right by her side. They had to help them.

 _"No, stay back its too dangerous!"_ Heracross warned them flying as fast as he could to save them. He flew towards them, but brushed against the mountain activating a trap.

Heracross was soon stuck in a cement like material only it was stronger and it started shrinking trying to squeeze the Bug/Fighting type to death.

Caught off guard by the sight, Emmy and Shadow didn't have a chance as an old fashion box trap fell on top of them. Both should have been easily able to move it, but both found out that none of the moves could break the trap.

 _"We have to help them!"_ Queen Dawna said only for Pikachu, Rockruff, and Litten step in front of her to prevent her from moving. Rowlett settled on top of King Ali.

"Wait up everyone I'm coming. Ah I can finally move! I can't wait to record all this new data," Rotom Dex said as he pushed his way through the rubble behind them before reaching the group. The living Pokedex was scratched up and the screen had a huge crack in it.

"Where have you been? We could have used your help earlier!" Mallow snapped at him.

"I'm guess the no tech net must have forced a shut down. Now that it's gone, he's able to move."

 _"I agree with Sophocles."_

Professor Kukui reminded them they could talk about it later. They needed to focus on their goal and get in the cave, around the traps, and to the receptacles without being caught.

Since they couldn't go through the main door and the inside was a like a maze, it was decided they needed to use a back door and trust the Pokémon to help them avoid traps. Ash would also have to use his abilities to keep them safe.

So they found a secret back entrance and Ash used his enhance senses to help guide them through the maze. Their Pokémon would spring traps and destroy them before anyone got hurt. It felt like an eternity, but they finally reached the center where all the receptacles had been hidden so long ago.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long," a male voice said in snarky tone. The receptacles lasers set the room aglow by lighting all the torches. Bluff was standing in the center with Zeke by his side. His Ultra Z-ring fully charged. "I hope you're impressed by my invention. Even I didn't suspect all it could do."

"UDO?" Xaveria and Trina said in unison. Their faces were a bit confused, but also full of anger and scorn. Bluff smiled and flicked his wrist. They saw something shining on his wrist.

* * *

Colored beams of light exploded going straight through the class's Pokémon and then their human. They were pinned to the walls of the maze by the energy as their beloved Pokémon sank to the ground with tight shackles imprisoning them.

Zeke let out a roar of delight as he was powered up. He released his strongest Dark Pulse attack, the attack wrapped itself around the Ash's Pokémon trapping them in cocoons draining their power. Twisting around, Zeke used a deadly Night Slash on Kukui and Rotom Dex. Even from the distance the attack hit and caused serious injury.

Kukui gasped as blood started dripping from his wound. He was in tremendous amount of pain as he fell to the ground and started bleeding out. Rotom Dex had been split in two and his natural body had been poisoned. Neither one was getting up after that attack.

The Dark Type was not one to give anyone a chance to catch their breath. Zeke broke out a Scary Face frightening the Queen and King so much, not only did they lose their speed, they were frozen in place like twin statues.

Bluff flicked his wrist again aiming his Ultra Z-Ring at the Protectors and the Heart. Ash slid in front of the girls and clapped his hands before spreading them apart. A giant rainbow colored shield sprang to life protecting the three of them from harm. The beams of light couldn't penetrate the shield.

"You're stronger than I thought young Heart, but you won't be able to keep that shield up for very long. I have enough patience to wait until your power weakens," Bluff stated calmly. He almost looked a bit bored by Ash's efforts.

"Don't listen to Udo. He doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm actually surprised to see you here. How did you even get here and what do you want?" Xaveria demanded angrily. She tilted her head back a little and saw that Marla, Ester, and Noir had been trapped in cages they couldn't get out of.

Bluff snapped at her to stop calling him by his first name. Conquers went by their last names because of their old fashion manners. It was very rude to call someone by their first name unless given permission. Not that girls cared as they continued to seethe at the sight of him.

On the maze walls, Kiawe tried to break free, but the pain in his heart was getting worse and Turtanator struggled and struggled to get out of the shackles, but they would not let go. They could feel something infecting their bond weakening the connection. "You three know each other? Then why didn't you tell us he was our quarry earlier."

Bluff chuckled and asked the boy if living by a volcano had melted his brains. "Why would they expect someone, who they thought was no longer a threat, would be their enemy? After all, I left that silly little town to join my true family." He was clearly amused by Kiawe's surprised expression.

"You didn't leave, you were banished for trying unethical experiments with the fragments and the non-bonded Pokémon!" Trina growled. She couldn't believe that he was here in such a sacred place. "I still can't believe you would betray Eva and Luca without a thought. She gave you a chance to become something great."

Bluff expression changed into one of anger. His hands clenched. "She banished my parents for taking what was rightfully theirs. I was a prisoner in that town with a leash around my neck."

 _"Forcing heart bonded Pokémon to abandon their human hearts was cruel and led to a death between a pair! How could she let them stay? She took you in at age three and raised you as a son. You were on your way to becoming a great Protector Scientist until you screwed up,"_ Leon retorted in a growl. He had no sympathy for a traitor.

 _"How do you even remember any of us, your mind was wiped before you were taken away and Zeke is unable to use a move to remember everything,"_ Leba added.

Zeke snorted before clicking his fingers. One moment there was nothing there and then the next moment a memory orb appeared in his fingers. _"I always was a good thief, despite not learning that move. I managed to steal this right before we were "caught" and store all our memories in it. We knew Luca would search us to make sure we didn't have something to help us remember everything, so I ate the orb and regurgitated it after we'd been "banished."_

Sophocles eyes widen while Togedemaru screamed in surprise. Both of them realized that Bluff had deliberately gotten himself banished, took the knowledge of Heartbond, and joined his parents who were members of the Conquerors of the Bond, to give them an edge.

Soon the others realized that too and it shocked everyone there. Especially the Protectors and the Heart. No wonder the Conquerors had been getting bolder, they had inside information. The realization of what happened cause Ash to falter for a second, but then renewed his efforts to keep the shield up.

Despite the difficulty in breathing, Lana managed to get a few words out. "You still haven't answered the questions. Why are you here and what do you hope to accomplish?" The master fisherwoman had a feeling that this guy liked to boast about his accomplishments and prove his superiority.

If one of them could get him distracted by talking, then they might be able to figure a way out of their bindings. Popplio repeated the question demanding an answer.

Bluff knew what the girl was trying to do, but he couldn't help himself. After all his plan wasn't complete yet. He still wanted to drive a knife deep into Trina's heart and cause the Heart himself to his knees. "I guess I have a little time and should thank you all for your help."

"Help? Ahhhhhhhhhh, what do you mean by that?" Mallow snapped. Steene tried to talk, but beam was making it difficult indeed. The best the Grass Type could do was lift her head a little to see the man who had imprisoned them.

"Why providing me biological samples to test my Ultra-Z ring out of course. Once we learned about the unique Alolan traditions and crystals, I started coming up with an invention that would give my people unimaginable power. All it took was little give and take with a local evil organization. We give each other what we need to complete our tasks and then go on with our lives."

Evil organization, what is he talking about? Lillie wondered as she listen to Bluff. Snowy was trying to use Powder Snow to break free and wasn't having any success. In frustration the little Pokémon barked, _"Do you plan on lecturing us to death or is there way to speed this up?"_

Bluff seemed to be taking Snowy question seriously when Ash's shield finally gave out. Trina leapt in front of him with Leba by her side. Xaveria and Leon started moving towards their prey.

* * *

Instead of using his Ultra Z-ring he tapped his red medallion. It glowed as a tan light zigzagged across the room and struck the heart bonded pair. The sounds of something shattering could be heard.

Trina and Ash watched in horror as they realized what was going on. Bluff had forcefully broken Xaveria and Leon's bond! Both of them were losing color and their bodies flailed around before becoming still.

"They're still alive if you're wondering, just in shock." Without a signal Zeke summoned his solid illusions that captured the remaining three of them in tight binds. _"Why don't you hang out for now? I doubt you want to miss home movies tonight."_

Bluff took the memory orb and fiddled around with it. A second later everyone was transported into his recent memories only they played in sepia instead of color. They all felt the coldness as they watched the memories. No light or warmth.

Bluff was in the office of the Conquerors Leader Mr. Gorge. They were having a serious meeting over a proposal for an invention of his. Mr. Gorge was reviewing the notes as Bluff explained the finer points.

"As you can see, I've been working on this for a long time, I wanted to perfect it before I asked for funding. By combining the design of the old fashion wrist communicators and altering the matrix of natural occurring items that enhance Pokémon, I can construct a device that reacts to our unique DNA to give us the same power boost. Theoretically, with the right materials and strong power source we can literally take control of heart bond pairs."

Mr. Gorge admitted the design concept and the theory were sound, but it would take unique materials to make this work and he wasn't sure there was anything in their possession that could work.

The memory changed showing Bluff working non-stop on creating his device and researching subjects from advanced genetics to legends around the world. One day in frustration he decided to see what his old "friend" Trina Chrysalis was doing.

They had grown up together for a time, after all while parents were away on missions, Eva usually became temporary guardian of the children. He loathed Trina. She seemed to excel at everything and it was unusual how so many unbounded Pokémon seemed drawn to her. Eva doted on her even when the girl said she didn't want attention. What he couldn't stand was how she could dream so big yet live in denial of what was really going on in her life.

He hacked into Trina's communicator and turned on the camera. The sound was muted, but he learned plenty of secrets about her life, that she was the Hearts Protector and about an interesting region she would be visiting soon.

More memories clips played showing Bluff and Zeke researching Alola and training. Bluff throwing away different plans until he perfected what he wanted. Gathering what he needed and heading for Alola while the Conquerors made a valuable alliance.

They learned why he tormented Trina and manipulate Ash. He needed to break their bond to make them more malleable and easier to manipulate. A depressed and compromised Protector, especially one of her heritage, would be the key to getting what he wanted. Not to mention a lazy Heart would be easier to capture.

He had a lot of hate for Trina, especially learning that her dream had come true, but at the cost of reason she pursued it. He and Zeke enjoyed the pain they caused. All of it had been for gathering the proper materials to finish the Ultra Z-ring.

When the saw the pieces of the Ultra Z-ring it became crystal clear what Bluff had done and what his plans were. He had drained energy from gem receptacles to recharge his power core, but it wouldn't hold out forever.

No, he planned on the Heart gathering huge amounts of natural energy to be placed in hundreds of power core spheres. The continuous natural energy would then pass through the unique biological samples before injecting it into the Z-crystals. The modified crystals would emit a synthetic bond and with the metal amplifying the power it would be easy to control multiple Pokémon and heart bonded humans.

He also planned on draining life energy, aura, via the Heart to give to their allies to connect their artificial plates to bring to life their artificial Arceus. Both processes not only required the Heart, but the unusual unique DNA of all the Eevees and their evolutions to complete the projects.

"So you see, I knew as a descendent of Elena and that you inherited the so called gift, if I pushed you hard enough, you be compelled to come here. I followed you and because Zeke was linked to your mind, I passed through the barrier. Now have the Pokémon on this island will be used by the Conquerors and the rest go to our allies to complete our projects. Of course it will get a bit messy before our projects are perfect."

" _You plan to kill every Eevee or our evolutions, harvest our DNA from our corpses, and fine tune your weapon to use against the Protectors? That's what this whole thing is about. Finding a way to invade our home and slaughter everyone there!"_

"That's just sick and wrong!" Ash shouted. "Do you really believe that I will help you with any of this?!"

Trina was quiet, looking at Bluff with hatred in her eyes. But she didn't understand something he said. He mentioned a gift just like Queen Dawna and King Ali had mentioned. She was still trying to figure that out when he continued his little speech.

He had revealed he loved torturing her because of what happened a few months ago. Seeing her confused expression he drove the final knife into her gut. "There's something the great and powerful Trina Chrysalis doesn't know? Shocking, but then again a freak like you wouldn't be able to see how weird you are," Bluff laughed at his little quips wiping tears from his eyes.

"What others might call a gift is a curse. Why instead of the three percent variance that makes us Conquerors and Protector different from regular humans, you have ten percent difference. That's right, you gained that unique mutation that allows you to connect and use the multiple abilities of the Pokémon you're bonded to and its entire evolution line. Even being able to partially change your appearance to fight more efficiently. I wonder if that means you can be captured as well."

Trina gasped and couldn't believe what he was saying, but deep in her heart, she knew it was true. Growing up she had always been a bit different, she healed from injuries faster, could adapt to a situation in seconds, and there was the way the Eevees and their evolutions flocked to her.

Darkness started to overwhelm her as Bluff continued his insults. That she was a freak and a burden on her parents. The reason they went on long term missions was to get away from her freakishness and prevent her from taking Enzo and Una away. They blamed her for the amount of them they had to be separated from their heart bonded Pokémon because _she_ kept ordering them to mate and have kids. That they hated her with a passion and that's why they had finally cut all ties with their freak daughter declaring they never wanted to see her or be called her parents again.

It was too much. The darkness started to spread only this time instead of invading her mind, it was trying to kill her by destroying her body. Her secrets exposed and knowing that someone had made her memories worse on purpose to show her the truth she denied didn't make her feel any better.

She could faintly hear yelling for help and the others gasping in fright. Trina was vaguely aware that Bluff had opened his pendent revealing that he had taken the human gem and somehow had the missing Heart one.

Her soul was falling apart as the two gems started taking draining Ash of both natural and life energy at the same time. A small voice inside her was telling her she need to get up and save the Heart before he died from using two different energies at once. But she had no will to fight.

* * *

" _Recover!"_ Three tiny, but familiar voices, echoed through the entrance of the maze. There were three bright flashes of light that traveled across the maze. As the flashes passed over, both Pokémon and humans recovered their strength and were healed. Their restraints vanished as the Ultra Z-Ring powered down to keep it from overloading the crystals.

The darkness was destroyed as Trina fell forward only to be caught by Princess Aya, and her friends, Rhea and Angelo. The star on her crown was glowing. All three little ones had a faint glow over them.

They had been the ones to use that super charged Recover, a move that Eevees weren't supposed to be able to, but apparently could here thanks to the star crown. "Thank you my friends."

" _You're very welcomed my friend. Now, to get this evil off our island and recover the Heart gem!"_

Bluff lost his temper right then and there. "How dare you pathetic excuse for a Pokémon interfere with my plans! You think you've accomplished anything with your little stunt? Then I'll just have to show you my true power!"

The chamber echoed his angry words as he turned the device power back on, this time to full power. He was super charging himself as his and Zeke's combined darkness flooded the area. The glow from the Ultra Z-ring came to life once more as the maze split apart some at the same level, while others shot up or down, separating the group.

From everywhere in the cave, droves of captured Pokémon appeared. Their eyes were pure white as shiny silver collars appeared around their necks, an onyx gem inside radiated power taking over their minds. They were now under Bluff's complete control.

It seemed impossible they could defeat this many foes at once, but Trina was finished being a victim. She was determined to win and defeat her Conqueror rival once and for all. "Counter strike begin!"

* * *

Professor Kukui was on his feet while Rotom Dex tried to find a way to get out of here. There little section had only broken a slight jump from the entrance. It was large enough to have space to move, but Kukui was defenseless without anything to fight with or a Pokémon that could help.

Three Souleons grinned eerily as they floated over to the duo, thanks in part to their Levitation ability. There little claws left deep scratches in the ground as they black rimmed golden eyes bore into Professor's eyes as they seemed to grow and become more transparent. Professor Kukui could feel his heartbeat increasing rapidly

 _"That's enough Night Shade!"_ Gloria growled as she used her tail to spring her across the gap followed by a slash, disrupting the Night Shade. Solo let out a high pitched Screech. It didn't affect the Souleons, but it did have an impact on the approaching Insecteons rattling their delicate hearing.

 _"We have to find a way to subdue them, without hurting them! We don't know what will happen after that piece of tech is destroyed. The backlash itself could fry them,"_ Solo reminded them. His green eyes tracked the movements of the enemy.

"Rotom Dex, keep computing a way to subdue them. I guess I have no choice, but to use my own hands to help." Rotom Dex floated a bit higher hoping to avoid attacks as he searched for an answer.

Meanwhile Lillie, Mallow, and their Pokémon had been driven into a corner section of the maze. The Drakeons lashed out their sharp claws and teeth tearing Lillie's skirt.

"AAHHH!"

 _"Lillie! You leave my human alone you overgrown lizard!"_ Snowy unleashed his strongest Powder Snow icing the ground and freezing the Drakeons legs so they couldn't move any closer.

Suddenly Snowy was tackled by Steene right before a Metaliceon used Iron Head where he'd been standing moments ago. With a quick slash of its blade like tail, the Drakeons where free.

"Come on, they're trying to box us in! Let's go this way." Mallow tugged Lillie as they jumped over the Metaliceon, avoided the Drakeons claws and then managed to scamper down the little hall of the maze.

They kept running until Lillie yanked back Mallow. Their section of their maze had tilted a bit. So their hallway led to slight drop to the unknown. What was worse, is that two Metaliceons had been standing still on the walls before dropping down in front of them.

The girls realized they were being pinned down once more. As scared as Lillie was that one of these innocent Pokémon, she knew that they had to be more frightened. They had no control over their bodies and if Bluff had his way, they all be killed.

Lillie pulled out the bag of Poke Beans from before and held it in the air. "Do you like treats? I have some yummy treats that will make you feel super."

Realizing what Lillie was trying to do Mallow started talking about all the delectable she could cook for them. Steene used Sweet Scent calming their attackers down. Snowy took one treat and placed it in front of Drakeon, hoping it would eat it.

The Drakeon sniffed the Poke Bean. It smelled delicious. Bending down it took a small bite and swallowed. The reaction was instantaneous. The white eyes started to dim and the collar loosened a bit. It started sharing the treat and slowly the Pokémon calmed down slightly.

"I hope you have a plan to free them, because we only have so many treats," Lillie hissed to Mallow.

On other platform sections the rest of the heroes were trying to figure out ways to calm down their attackers without hurting them, but it was not as easy as they hoped

Kiawe and Turtanator were scattering the incoming Vaporeon and Dusteons by using Dragon Tail, but it wasn't keeping them back forever. They kept getting closer firing different attacks keeping the Akala Island duo from using their Z-move by drowning them in water and sand.

"We have to do something! We can't take anymore hits!" Kiawe told his partner. He glanced at his Z-Ring wondering if he should use Inferno Overdrive.

 _"Don't even think about it. If we use a Z-move now, we risk hurting the Vaporeons and these Dusteons for life. We need a different way to deal with this,"_ Turtanator told him.

Once again he struck out with Dragon Tail sweeping back the controlled Pokémon. There had to be something he could do to help these Pokémon. He looked around and spotted something that can be useful. As they prepared to jump him, Turtanator set up Shell Trap. _"Be ready to act. I'm hoping this works."_

The instant a Dusteon touched the shell a loud explosion went off. The innocent Pokémon rolled under a ledge that Kiawe blocked with some of the rubble. Hopefully it would hold them for a while.

It was the same thing all over. Sophocles had his Chargebug power up Togedemaru, who was using her Lightning Rod ability, before aiming it at the collars trying to get them to come off. It was slow going and only a handful had loosened up.

Lana wasn't having much luck either as she and Popplio caught as many eevelutions in bubbles. The bubbles could only hold them for a short period of time before they busted. Lana was using her skills as a master fishing woman to cast out her line and try to take the collars off. Like everyone else that wasn't working well.

The Queen and King, along with Ash's Pokémon save Pikachu, were doing their best to help. They could only hope that the Protectors would save the day.

* * *

Trina and Xaveria along with their Pokémon were going for a frontal assault on Bluff. Their Pokémon were coming up at the different angles in their first attempt to grab the Ultra-Z ring and gems.

Bluff looked forward to the fight, the energy around him going crazy. He had lost his cool, but his dedication this his mission was strong enough to keep him focused. Without a word being said, Zeke used his new speed boost to snatch Ash from where he was on the floor, then used shadows to eagle spread the boy between two receptacles posts, and finally crouch next to Bluff's side as the Conqueror pressed his pendent again to start the draining process.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH! STOP! NO! Let me go, let me go! Ahhh help!" Ash screamed as his right side turned blue and the left side was tan. His heart was pounding a million miles a second. This was worse than the time Mew and Mewtwo turned him into stone!

Ash struggled to hold back his power. When that didn't work, he tried using the energy to summon and aura sphere to free himself. A small sphere of aura started to form before it started to burn his skin! "Not to self don't try that again."

 _"I'm coming Ash! Nothing going to stop me from freeing you!"_ Pikachu shouted his tail ready to deliver a strong Iron Tail with a combined Quick Attack to get in close. He jumped up and turned to deliver the attack. Following him from behind was Noir and Solo, both ready to use Slash or Fury Attack.

 _"I don't think so you meddlesome rat!"_ Zeke snickered as he clicked his claws. The shadows sprang to life, wrapping around Pikachu and dragging him to the ground. He started to glow as his life force was being drained. Xaveria's two Pokemon trainees also got tied up, but they weren't being drained.

"ASH! PIKACHU!" Trina shouted. She turned towards them as a living illusion came after her. She paused for a split second before doing a high kick destroying the illusion. Another illusion came at her and she punched it in the gut destroying them.

More illusions kept coming, more dangerous than the last. Xaveria activated her communicator sending a thin sheet of crystal walls to protect themselves and to frighten the illusions. It seemed to be holding for now.

"We can't get close enough to that nasty duo to even attempt to destroy their items. Not with all these illusions."

"If we don't Ash is going to die along with the island and its inhabitants. Freeing Ash and Pikachu isn't enough if those items keep being used against them."

Leba nodded and then outlined the plan. Xaveria and her Pokémon should take on those illusion monsters, leading them away. While she and Trina battled Bluff and Zeke, the three little Eevees would have the toughest job. They needed to sneak to the receptacles pillars and knock them over. It would be a big enough distraction for Trina to grab the items and destroy them.

 _"We promise to be very careful. We won't be seen!"_ Prince Aya told the group.

 _"If you really have the gift, try using it. Instant adaptability could be the key to winning,"_ Rhea reminded Trina.

Angelo walked over and presented something to Trina. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Angelo pushed it a little closer. _"This is the island's greatest treasure. It was meant for anyone of Elena's bloodline to use. Take it and use it when the time is right."_

* * *

Placing the hidden ace under her sweatband she signaled for the trio to keep close to the ground and not be caught. She stood up with Leba by her side as she activated her own protective armor against Dark Types. Xaveria was ready as well. "Marla, Ester, when this crystal wall goes down I want you to take down the right and left flanks. Leon and I will drive down the middle. Ready."

Xaveria pressed her pendent instantly changing into a flexible light weight armor. Touching her communicator the crystal wall disappeared before Xaveria yelled the Protectors battle cry, "For the protection of the Heart Bonded!" Electrical energy surged between her hands gathering power. Taking careful aim she released a powerful wide sweeping Charge Beam blasting a hole in the illusions ranks.

Not to be out done, Leon created a giant Electro Ball sending it crashing into the ground stunning the illusions and creating a path for Xaveria and him to charge forward.

 _"Hope you enjoy my twirling Fury Swipes!"_ Marla screeched. She jumped and twisted around landing blows all over the living illusions. She ran, skipped, and hopped all over the right flanks taking out as many as she could.

 _"I'm ready to bring on the burn. Fire Fang!"_ Ester roared as she proceeded to attack everything in her path. Some of the illusions were actually running away not wanting to be burned.

Trina and Leba used the distraction to the advantage. Leba sent scores of Magical Leaf clearing a path to Bluff and Zeke. They appeared to be waiting for them, not trying to stop them when Trina did a few acrobatic moves to get right next to them in the center of the maze.

"TRINA BE CAREFUL AHHHHHHHH!"

 _"Leba, if you can get us free sooner rather than later we really appreciate it!"_

In response to his prisoners' encouragement, Bluff increased his control of the innocent Pokémon. Those that hadn't been fighting screamed as their bodies started to be torn apart from the inside out. "It's a shame, but I can't have weak Pokémon survive. Their genetics would be worthless."

 _"Maybe our allies would love their worthless bodies. I doubt their plan to recreate Arceus, even if we give them the items they need, to finish their project, will even work. Once a failure always a failure"_

Trina and Leba were beyond angry at this point. Bluff and Zeke had tortured and manipulated them. Creating a dangerous piece of tech by messing with objects that were sacred to Alolan culture. Zeke had trashed the school and Bluff had forced her out to sea not caring if she survived or not. What he was doing to this sacred place and trying to kill the Heart that was beyond the tipping point.

* * *

A strange tingling sensation spread across Trina's body. She felt herself changing slightly. Her ears changed angling backwards with feathers sprouting. Feathers appeared around her wrists and ankles while wings sprouted on her back. Suddenly she had a feathery tail. She had taken on the traits of Avieon!

"You're mine Udo! Leba, you know what to do."

 _"Right!_ " Leba slammed her paws on the ground, a trail of Grass Knots rushed towards Zeke, who jumped out of the way. He came at her with a Night Slash which she blocked with her Protect. Angling her head in a joking manner she asked if Zeke was a wuss or was he going to give her a real fight?"

That enraged the Zoroark who called her out for an all-out, winner takes everything, dominance battle. Unlike regular battles, this was a challenge to declare the strongest, superior, and intimidating Pokémon. Anything was allowed in this fight, including dirty moves. The winner had to right to either let the loser live or kill them. This was one fight that neither Pokémon was ready to lose.

Leba jumped and sprang about. With his power boost Zeke was a lot stronger and faster than normal. The way to win this fight was to be smarter than him. First off she needed to increase her own abilities.

Zeke let loose a powerful Dark Pulse right at his opponent. She was so stupid running into the attack. Right before the attack hit flopped on her back and used Sword Dance. The mystic swords appeared clanking together raising Leba's attack status while at the same time slice parts of the Dark Pulse so she wouldn't be hit.

 _"You're little trick won't help you win! Why don't I show you a true status move?"_ Zeke laughed as he sent a powerful Scary Face at Leba. She dove under a ledge, but still got partially hit, making her lose a lot of her speed.

While this was going on Trina was in the air dodging Night Slash attacks. Instinctively she knew how to fly properly. She did a loop de loop gaining speed and height before bombarding Bluff with Magical Leaf.

The Conqueror let them come. Holding a back a yawn he raised his invention. The Normalium Z-Crystal lit up. Zeke paused for a second in the fight as he felt a tiny portion of his power being borrowed. Then he was after Leba again. Both of them using their status moves on each other.

A giant Protect spread in all directions shielding him. "The wonders of modern science. Not only does this control multiple Pokémon and their heart bonded humans, I can reverse its effects to give me access to moves my Pokémon knows, but I can't use."

That was frustrating to learn. Both Leba and Zeke knew two normal moves, but their humans normally only used moves that matched the Pokémon's type. Realizing this Trina decided to switch up her attack. In mid-air she changed once more. Scales appeared on her face as her fingers were replaced with dragon claws. A large heavy tail appeared as horns popped out of her head. As she got close she swung her tail hard, the impact destroying the Protect.

Landing she tried to strike him with her claws, but he dodged it. He fired a Dark Pulse at her legs injuring them slightly. Trina fell over without the support from her legs, she couldn't handle her weight gain.

Bluff got in close and kicked her in the face, stomach, and chest. He was raising his foot to aim for her neck, when she managed to kick him in the groin. While he was doing that she backed up, took a few deep breaths and stood up.

She counter attacked with lighting speed striking in all the right places to disable him, but Bluff wasn't going down that easy. He twisted out of her hold and dragged her back to the ground. He started to twist it around trying to snap her arm off.

Trina felt her body tingling again as she focused on different form. What she need was to be a better fighter. Her arm changed color, ignoring the pain she used a move she never tried before. "Arm Thrust!"

Bluff let go in shock. She had managed to give him a bloody nose. His Ultra Z-ring was vibrating a lot, indicating the biological samples were almost used up and the Z-Crystals would be destroyed if he didn't win this fight soon.

"I tire of this game. Why don't you slow down to a crawl?" Trina didn't look away in time and she felt the effects of the attack weakening her immensely. "I'm not going to let you change again! This ends now!"

As Bluff powered up his Dark Pulse attack, Leba was kicked and thrown in front of Trina, bleeding from different injuries. As her heart bonded human knelt down to protect her from harm, Zeke was ready to deliver a devastating Night Slash. If both hit they would be finished.

* * *

That's when from behind them a huge Thunderbolt struck the duo. From their right and left came four attacks; Fury Swipes, Fire Fang, Charge Beam, and Electro Ball. Two Protects snapped into place to protect them. The attacks increased for a little bit only to stop once they had exhausted their power.

Glaring from his safe bubble Bluff was astonished to see that the poles that had held the Heart had been knocked over. Three tiny Eevees and that blasted Pikachu, along with that shady Purloin and sneaky Sneazle had dragged the Heart as far away as they could. Ash was in no condition to be moved any further. Seventy five percent of his energy supply had been depleted. The trio of Eevees were slowly using Recover to help the Heart healunder the watchful eyes of Solo and Noir. Meanwhile Pikachu stood protectively in front of his partner. _"I won't let you harm my Ash or his friends anymore!"_

Behind him, one of the Eevees stopped using Recover for a second. Princess Aya looked at the Heart's Protector. _"Protector Trina, its time to use your Last Resort!"_

Trina nodded as she let the change take over. Soon she was sprouting the trademarks of an Eevee. She pulled back her wrist band revealing what Angelo had given her. It was a Z-Rin with the rare Eevium Z-Crystal on it, the island's greatest treasure. "The problem with you Conquerors is that you fail to grasp the concept that as a community of heart bonded, when we work all together we can accomplish anything!"

For the first time in a long time, Bluff and Zeke were afraid. They watched as Trina rapidly went through the Normal Pose before placing her hands on her head to represent her "Eevee" status. All around her the eighteen evolutions broke free for a second and looked at her.

They all stood at attention before being whisked into the sky by bubbles made of their power. Trina let her hands fall as she jumped a few feet so she was somewhat in the middle of it. "My friends lend me your strength. Extreme Evoboost!"

All at once every evolution shot a beam of power at Trina. Under normal circumstances only one representative would bestow some of its power on an Eevee. This was an exception to the rule because of her gift. Every single evolution filled her with power. The power flooded her making her attack, defense, special attack and defense, and her speed so high she was up to legendary levels. With a grin on her face she moved.

Bluff had no way to keep track of her as she used her speed to unleash her attacks. With her defense so high she didn't even feel his measly attempts to strike back at her. She ran around Zeke until he was dizzy so that Leba could borrow some of that special attack and defense power through their bond.

Leba took advantage of his dizziness as she hit him in the chest knocking him down. Hundreds upon hundreds Grass Knots formed around his body tangling him up until he looked like grass version of mummy. _"I win you stupid Dark Type. No one beats me, especially if I have a score to settle with them!"_

"Zeke! Ahhh!" Marla used her Fury Swipe to cut off his pendent as Ester's Fire Fang bit his arm causing it to flail around. With his Ultra-Z ring exposed, Leon jump and tore it off before tossing to Xaveria.

Xaveria smashed the device on the ground and stomped all over it before using an Electro Ball to obliterate it. She started to gather the pieces into safe container.

While this was happening, Trina concentrated all her power and unleashed a monstrous Magical Leaf attack. Bluff screamed as he was cut and sliced. His body took a lot of damage as he felt the backlash of using his Ultra Z-ring. The Conqueror collapsed to the ground clearly beaten. He barely felt the layers of crystal growing on him as he fell into a deep sleep.

Once she was sure Bluff was contained and Zeke was no longer a threat, the Proctor released all the power she had gained restoring the evolutions to normal. The Heart Gem also returned what it had taken from Ash before falling to the ground. With the newly returned energy the receptacles powered back up and restored order to the island, fixing any damage that had been done.

The last one to be restored to normal was Trina, who hugged Leba, who was really relieved her heart bonded person was herself again and that they had won the most difficult fight of their lives. The only thing now was to deal with the aftermath of this terrible nightmare.


	8. Paradise Regained

**This is the last chapter in this story. I hope you enjoy it. I might write another one in this storyline I created. Time will tell.**

* * *

Everyone had gathered inside the palace. With all twenty gems returned to their receptacles the island had return to normal. Both Trina and Ash agreed the Heart gem should stay on the island where it rightfully belonged so it couldn't be used against future Hearts. The royals agreed with them.

Bluff and Zeke had been transported to the dungeons and were under heavy guard. Layers upon layers of crystal had been wrapped around them putting them in suspended animation until they could be safely transported to the outside world to face judgment.

Since everything was back to the normal, everyone was welcomed to enjoy the Feast of Evolution. The huge banquet hall was filled with hundreds of different dishes and drinks. The "chefs" had even managed to make a few human dishes, such as Alolan Legendary Stew and Akala Curry. They even managed to make malasada treats for everyone.

Everyone was chatting happily as the graduates sat with their families talking excitedly about what jobs they hoped to get with their new forms. The older evolutions told stories about them adjusting to their new lives during their first year as a new type. The younger Eevees were bombarding anyone who would answer their questions about what it was like to evolve.

Near the front of the table the class was enjoying their food. Mallow couldn't believe how great the stew here was. It tasted even better than her own version! Steene was enjoying the blend of different berries to make a juice that tasted the same as sunlight.

"This food is great isn't it Steene?"

 _"Indeed it_ Steene!"

Mallow looked at her in surprise. "I didn't catch that last word. Hey is anyone else starting to lose their ability to understand your Pokémon?"

The others in the class talked to their partners. Kiawe and Lillie could still understand their Pokémon perfectly. However Lana and Sophocles missed a few words. Professor Kukui also was starting to lose his ability.

Ash looked at them sadly. He had hoped the gift would last a bit longer, but his power to help other humans understand Pokémon language had limits. At the most he could bless someone with the ability for a month, but it usually only lasted a week at the most. "I'm sorry everyone, but there's a limit to how long I can bless people with this ability. By the time we get back to Melemele Island everything will back to normal."

The others looked unhappy about that. They really enjoyed talking with their Pokémon and their partners felt unfortunate for them. They knew Ash could keep renewing their abilities, however it would seriously impair his other abilities and they couldn't be selfish.

Xaveria didn't like the somber mood and told them to enjoy the time they had left. They could understand their Pokémon before they had the ability to speak their tongue and they would still have that when they returned to Melemele. Talking wasn't the only way to communicate.

That put a smile on their faces and turned back to their meals and watching the entertainment. It was breathtaking watching the different eeveelutions and regular Pokémon, putting on grand performances or having mock battles around them.

* * *

Trina had a smile on her face and for the first time since she came to this region, she felt free and wonderful. All the darkness had left her mind and body. Her emotions were back under her control and she had her real personality back. But the real change was her ability to finally talk about what had been causing her depression.

As they had been walking back to the city, all the humans had been unsure how to approach Trina about the hidden truths that Bluff had revealed. They weren't sure what was true and what had been a lie to hurt her already fragile psyche.

Ash was the only one who had the courage to ask. "Trina, was anything Bluff said in there true?"

The Protector had responded with, "The part about my parents never wanting to see me or be called my parents again is true. They disavowed me."

"Disavowed? I don't understand."

"It means Ash that Trina's parents have legally and emotionally disclaimed knowledge of any connection with, or responsibility for Trina. They don't see her as their child, to them she never existed. She was never part of their family and anything she might have inherited is no longer hers to claim. To disavow someone is an extreme form of cruelty and emotionally painful to the victim. It's the most extreme abuse a person can get. Her parents want a Tabula Rusa, or a clean slate, without anything remotely reminding them of they considered an unwanted burden," Professor Kukui explained.

The entire class and hordes of eeveelutions had been horrified to learn that. None of them could understand how any parent could just sign a piece a paper to wipe out a child. To see a wonderful daughter as a burden or an unwelcome memory. They finally understand why Trina hadn't wanted to talk about this. It was something personal.

* * *

Back in the present, Trina knew she would have to talk about her feelings and the other emotional traumas that had happened in her life, but not tonight. She wanted to enjoy the feast and be happy.

As the feast was coming to a close, Queen Dawna and King Ali stood up on their thrones and used their crowns to create a dazzling lightshow. The humans sensed this was something that did not happen often and they were enjoying a special privilege.

As the show came to an end, Queen Dawna spoke. _"My subjects and friends. Today's Festival of Evolution was very different than before. Not only did we have a descendant of Elena here with us, we also had the privilege and honor of the Heart and his companions to join us in our feast tonight._

 _I am very proud of every graduate here tonight. I strongly believe that each of you has chosen the path best suited for you. Our island will prosper and grow as your contributions to our way of life will make us stronger."_

There were cheers and clapping. After a few minutes it died down and King Ali started his speech.

 _"Today was also the closest our home has come to being destroyed. Despite our greatest efforts, we were captured, tortured, and would have been slaughtered to perpetuate an evil that has plagued our nightmares for generations. The Conqueror Bluff and his dark hearted partner Zoroark Zeke turned out to be descendants of the very thief who destroyed our original home and forced our ancestors to be separated by their beloved humans' selfless sacrifice._

 _This attack has revealed many things to us. Besides tightening security and making the barrier stronger, there are groups, both human and Pokémon, who have no qualm about harming innocents and killing anyone who gets in their way. It is because of this that we need to send a small group to the outside world."_

 _"This group will observe and learn about the outside world. They shall help our brothers and sisters out there learn their forgotten evolutions. We shall help protect the balance that exist. It is our sacred duty and will be our legacy to future generations and tribute to our ancestors,"_ Queen Dawna stated. Her postured was straight and tall, but her eyes showed her love and passion for what she was talking about.

Sensing she was wanted, Trina got out of her chair with Leba beside her. They stood in front of the royal couple and bowed. "Your idea is grand Your Majesties. As a descendant of Elena and one whose gifted with your unique ability, I would be honored to take care and guide those who have been chosen for this mission. As long as they understand they will have to be temporarily captured to prevent them from being taken away."

 _"Everyone understands Protector Chrysalis. We trust you and know you will do everything to protect our family and friends. In turn, I hope we can help you to learn to master this precious gift you've been given."_

Both the Queen and King paused for a minute and looked down at their precious daughter. Little Aya had displayed great strength and courage today. She not back out of doing her duty to island's inhabitants. Without her help many Pokémon and the Heart might have died.

 _"Princess Aya! You have shown great skill and loyalty today. We are proud of you both as a daughter and a royal. It seems only fair that a member of the royal family join this mission."_

 _"You mean you're sending me out their?"_ Princess Aya asked in disbelief. Her parents nodded and she felt so happy. She wouldn't have to say goodbye to her new friend. To have an exciting adventure so that one day when she was Queen, she could share all she learned with her all her people.

King Ali looked at Leba who stood tall with patience in her eyes. The Leafeon had proven herself to be a great fighter, but also a good friend. She would be a great mentor for his daughter. _"Protector of the Heart Bond Leba. Will you take care of my daughter as if she is one of your own? Will you mentor, protect, and teach her all she needs to know in the outside world?"_

 _"It will be my honor. I miss being a big sister. It will be nice to be a big sister once more."_

Aya yipped in delightfully, before falling off her chair. A bit embarrassed she nevertheless ran over and started being affectionate with Trina and Leba. She paid close attention to who would be joining her.

It turned out Amelia was ready to step down from her position as eldest mentor to spend time with Angelo. The two of them would be joining the group. Amelia felt that being a flying type would come in awfully handy with all sorts of dangers.

As for Angelo, he couldn't stop wiggling in delight. The fact that he was leaving the island to learn new things wasn't the best part. The best part was being able to spend more time with his mom.

The last pair was Rhea and her aunt Pinja, Emmy's younger sister and a Pebbleon. You could always find rocks wherever you went. Rhea was excited to learn from her aunt, who didn't visit the city very often. Pinja wanted to prove to her brother in law that she could be as responsible as him.

The five of them swore to do everything they could to complete this mission. To help their brothers and sisters and lastly protect each other and the members of Trina's family. They gave Trina their permission and were captured in different balls according to their comfort preference. It would also be a quick way to identify who was who in an emergency.

* * *

After a good night's sleep the class with the help of the inhabitants, managed to salvage a lot of tech from Bluff's yacht, to fix up their boats so they could leave in their two ships, before sinking it to the bottoms of the ocean. They didn't want any trace of the Conquerors near this place. The ocean would become its grave and hopefully it would never be found.

Everyone was saying their good byes saying how much they would miss the eeveelutions and their grand island. They had all sworn an oath to never talk about this place or what they had seen to anyone except for the Protectors alerting the Head Protector Eva of the events here. That was fine by the inhabitants knowing they would need Protectors in the future to aid them in keeping their home safe.

Princess Aya was giving her parents a few more nuzzles. She knew she would be back, but it could be sometime before she saw them again. No matter where the island went, Aya, Trina, and the others would always know how to find it.

 _"Do well daughter. I love you so much."_

 _"We shall miss you greatly, but we look forward with pride to see what kind of Pokémon you turn into. Be on your best behavior and remember to have fun."_

 _"I will Mommy and Daddy. I love you so much, I can't wait to make you proud."_ Princess Aya gave them one last nuzzle then boarded Trina's boat.

The two ships started up and they headed away from the island back to the Alolan Sea. Within a few minutes they passed through the barrier into the open sea. When they looked back, the mysterious fog bank was gone and there was no island in sight. The Isle of the Eevees had moved on to its next location. Now it was time for all of them to go back to Melemele Island.

Trina was guiding her boat alongside the Professor's enjoying the sun on her skin. She looked at the deck below and saw Leba telling the others about everything they saw and where they would be going. It reminded her of the first time she had left her home to see the world.

"Reminiscing about old times?" Xaveria asked as she came into the cabin. The other Protector had decided to travel with Trina, just in case she slipped back into a depression. Her own Pokémon, except for Marla, laid out on the deck relaxing. The rescue mission had really pushed them harder than any basic training could.

"You've done well with preparing the non-bonded for the ceremony. They're already very strong and capable. I'm sure whoever they bond to will be honored you trained them."

Xaveria preened at the compliment. She may not be the Protector of the Heart like her rival, but she was the top Protector when it came to training non-bonded Pokémon for the Bonding Ceremony. This had always been her dream. She liked to travel and return home often to enjoy the peace from the chaotic world.

"Yeah, I think one of them has already found their human." She pointed out the window to the other boat. Marla the Meowth was sitting by Professor Kukui's leg and nuzzling him. No doubt she was purring in content.

The Professor didn't seem to mind at all. He petted her affectionately and snuck her a Poke Bean treat. It was obvious they were starting to bond now that the danger had passed. The sight made both Protectors happy.

Xaveria giggled a bit, "I like to think that Marla will enjoy being an original version Meowth and kicking the Alolan types butts all the time."

Trina nodded and kept steering the boat. Neither said anything to the other one. The rivals had their own secret way of saying a lot without saying anything. Xaveria just knew that Trina was thankful for her help in saving her. Trina knew despite all the trouble lately, Xaveria thought she was still the strongest person for managing to overcome her depression to help save lives.

Down below on the deck Leba was taking a break from describing the sights to the others had come to sit in the shade with Leon for a little bit. As much as she enjoyed the sun, she could still overheat if she got too much.

She started to settle down for a nice nap when Leon posed a question to her, _"What do you think will happen when we arrive back to Melemele Island? Head Protector Eva has already radioed ahead she'll be waiting for us there to discuss the mission and what our next step is."_

" _To be honest, I hope that Trina and I aren't recalled to Heartbond, for mental evaluation or retraining. It would crush her spirit if she wasn't allowed to be the Heart's Protector anymore."_

Leon nodded understandingly. Each Protector, no matter what their job was, took great pride in their abilities to perform each mission. While getting good psychical logical help and retraining was necessary at times, it also meant that a team had failed in some way in their mission.

A lot of the older generations felt it was great shame if one of their younger relatives failed at their mission. It was worse if you had a great reputation and had it shredded by stigma. Eva and Luca worked tirelessly to change this perspective, but doing so could take generations.

" _I'm sure that Head Protector will take in account all the circumstances as well as the Heart's wishes. I just hope Xaveria isn't punished too harshly for bringing outsiders into our fold without permission."_

" _We'll just have to wait and see."_

* * *

On the other ship, Ash was also wondering what would happen next. He didn't want to have to leave his friends and go to Heartbond to complete his training. More importantly, he didn't want to lose Trina as his Protector. Not after everything he and his friends did to find her and free her from her torment.

He felt awful for not noticing she was in pain for months. He had failed to be there for her when she need a friend, no, a _**brother**_ , when she needed it the most. More importantly, he had lapsed in his responsibility as the Heart of the world.

I'm supposed to be the one who protects the world from danger. It's my responsibility to care for both humans and Pokémon. I never should have let myself fall so far from where I was.

Ash swore to himself if he was given a second chance he wouldn't waste it. His dream to be a Pokémon master was important, but so was being the Heart of the world. The world needed him to be the best he could be to keep it safe.

* * *

Surprisingly it only took a day and half to reach Melemele Island. As the group got closer to the island a message was transmitted to both vessels. It gave them coordinates to a small cove where they were to meet the leader of the Protectors for prisoner transfer and debriefing.

Reaching the cove they saw five boats anchored in the cove. Each one had a subtle emblem of the Protectors seal hidden on the boat somewhere. Standing on the deck of the lead boat in all her glory was Head Protector Eva and her heart bonded Pokémon Luca the Lucario.

Once the boats were close enough to stretch the gangplank across Head Protector Eva asked permission to come aboard. Receiving it, she crossed over to Kukui's ship, while Xaveria and Trina, joined them as well. They both bowed their heads in respect as Leon and Leba kneeled as well.

"Rise my Protectors, I don't need grandstanding at this moment. Right Luca?" Head Protector Eva asked in a joking manner.

"I agree we should be focusing on the matters at hand." The rest of the class except for Ash, stared in shock at a Lucario who could speak perfect human. Ash mentioned that it was possible, but they hadn't believed him until now.

Head Protector Eva nodded as she ran her right hand through her braid. Smoothing her robes her manner changed from being laid back to serious. Turning her attention to Protectors she demanded to know where the prisoners were.

"They're both in the cargo hold on our ship in stasis inside the crystal wrap. I have been keeping a diligent eye on them since their capture. They haven't stirred once." Xaveria explained.

The two leaders nodded. Lucario called out to one of the boats. A few Machamps, along with Sawk and Throh appeared. Another gangplank was extended and the Fighting Types boarded the girls boat.

Carefully, they carried the prisoners off the fishing vessel and back to their boat. They were gently placed in special transport containers to prevent the crystal wrap from shattering and killing the prisoners from an erupt immersion from suspended animation.

Luca held out his paws as his sensors hairs flared. Using his connection to aura he checked himself to confirm that the prisoners were indeed still alive under the crystal wrap. Lowering his paws he turned to look at Eva. "They are still in suspended animation and should remain so as we journey home."

Lillie squeezed Snowy tightly and hesitantly asked, "What are you going to do with them?" The others stared at her in surprise. "I mean, I know what they did was a crime against nature. I still can feel my heart twisting from being captured with Snowy in pain."

Head Protector Eva placed a hand on Lillie's shoulder and smiled at her. "Compassion in any form is the sign of a pure heart. Protectors of the Heart Bonded, don't believe in taking the life of anyone, even our enemies. We have special prison in our town that's designed to keep those of great evil in suspended animation for all time. Bluff and Zeke will not be killed, but neither will they have their freedom."

It seemed a fair punishment and the most humane. Kiawe was the only one who thought that the punishment should fit the crime. Those two had corrupted a sacred item to the Alolan culture and destroyed a place of learning. His anger was boiling inside him.

Turtanator touched Kiawe's shoulder. He couldn't communicate anymore with words, but a gesture was enough to tell his heart bonded human that he needed to let go of his anger. Kiawe understood and relaxed.

Observing the teens and their Pokémon, it was obvious there was much to discuss. "I can tell you all have a lot to share and that this will be a long debriefing. I would like to extend a hand of friendship to all of you. Please dine with me for a late lunch."

Luca extended his hand and promised some of the escorts could return the boats to port and pay for any damages to the ships that weren't covered under insurance. There was a twinkle in his eyes saying the Protectors had more than enough money to cover any costs.

* * *

Lunch was slightly awkward as different Protectors and their heart bond Pokémon came into the dining room as the chef was delivering trays of Sinnoh delicacies for them to eat. Sophocles and Togedemaru started to fidget as they waited for Eva to finish her business. Both of their stomachs were growling for the yummy food in front of them.

She reviewed some files by her three techs, each one with a different member of the Porygon family, with them. She approved of the papers telling them to have antivirus on hand to protect their friends. She warned them to be careful while investigating Bluff's old residence.

Then she relayed orders to her crew to do a maintenance check on their small fleet. She sent on member of her crew to get out to collect as much data as they could about the Alola region. Another member was told to take a memory orb and collect pieces of memory from some of the Pokémon in the area so the Protectors could understand what these Pokémon needed.

Luca was giving out orders to different Pokémon about looking for hidden secrets, and if some could relay a message to the Island Guardian, to tell him the threat of darkness had been contained and would be sent far away soon. A few were assigned to assist with the memory gathering.

Head Protector Eva gestured for them to start eating and she would soon be finished with her work. The two Protectors knew that their leader was using this time to make her own observations before she heard to the debriefing.

After one last messenger gave her the latest updates on their progress on the island, did she lean in and stare at Trina. "Trina, I'm truly sorry about what happened between you and your parents. I kept hoping they would change their minds, but I have to accept they won't. If I could change what happened I would."

Trina gave her an appreciative smile and thank you. 'I believe I should start with more details about what has been going on since our arrival in Alola." Ash interrupted saying he would add in his parts in the story.

Trina explained in more detail about her emotional state during this time while Ash admitted to slacking off his duties. Both emphasized that they should have been more observant and talked about what was going on between them. Not knowing if it would help Professor Kukui interjected a few times about his actions during their stay.

Head Protector Eva tilted her head with her eyes slightly closed. She would ask questions about some events or make an approving sound at what the professor had to say. She was very intrigued about the interaction between the Protector, the Heart and Tapu Koko.

Xaveria picked up the story from her entrance and gave her reasons for bringing in civilians to help. Each student received Eva's complete attention as she questioned about their experience and how they handled things when Bluff unleashed his attack.

Luca was conducting his own debriefing with the Pokémon. He used his aura reading abilities to discern who was being completely honest or if there was someone was telling the whole truth.

When he spoke with the residents of the Isle of Eevees and about their mission, he was impressed. Amelia and Pinja were polite and kind willing to answer his questions. He was very satisfied by what he heard and he thought the three little Eeevees were adorable.

When the debriefing was finished, everyone sat in silence as Eva and Luca had their own private discussion in their own little language. They were talking adamantly, sometimes gesturing to the others. There was a moment when Luca shouted at Eva and she harshly responded making the Lucario shrink down a bit.

Professor Kukui raised an eyebrow and looked at Ash and Trina who shook their heads. They didn't know what the problem was. Both of them knew whatever they said to each other was a disagreement over something.

At last the two finished their discussion. Eva turned her attention to the Protectors and the Heart, a serious expression on her face. Her mouth was in a slight frown. The air around her crackled a bit.

"Protector Trina Chrysalis, sit at attention." The late teen turned her chair to face her leader. She adjusted her posture until she was sitting straight up with her hands in her lap.

Head Protector Eva clicked her fingertips together. "Protector Chrysalis, I understand that you have been under a great deal of emotional stress. No one should have to go through what you are experiancing," she told the girl patiently in a kind voice.

Then she continued in a more serious tone. "However, I am very disappointed that you did not trust anyone to help you. No matter how personal your pain was, you owed it to yourself and your charge, to get the help you needed. While we can never be sure it was Bluff's invention that pushed you over the edge or the culmination of your own emotional mess, but you put a lot of people at risk, worse you could have died by keeping everything inside."

Luca spoke up at that moment, "Leba, you are also at fault here. I know your intentions were noble and you respected your heart bonded human's privacy. Yet, you knew the emotional pain was causing her to lose her control. It was your job to speak up on her behalf. I know you tried your best, but you could have done more."

Trina continued to endure the criticism of her performance. They pointed out her mistakes and that she hadn't been taking her duties seriously enough. Whatever the situation, it was her job to use her intelligence and perspective of the situation to determine what was best for everyone.

The late teen was gripping her clothes tightly and tried not to cry. She wanted to shrink down and bow her head in shame. However she contiuned to endure the harsh words and bravely acknowledge they were right.

Ash on the hand couldn't take his Protector being bullied anymore. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I can't let you berate Trina anymore!" he shouted smashing his fist on the table. His Pokémon also agreed giving the girl compliments.

"If anyone is to blame it's me you should be angry at. I failed in my responsibilities. I failed to keep my end of the bargain I made with both of you leaders," Ash admitted as he stood up from the table.

The class watched in astonishment as Ash passionately defended Trina and at the same time, admitted all the wrongs he did and should be punished for. When his Pokémon protested he told them he appreciated it, but this was something he had to do.

Trina then started to defend him and at one point Xaveria interjected that both of them shouldn't feel so bad. After all they weren't the ones who dragged civilians into danger without considering all the consequences. Not to mention how stupid it was to reveal the Heart's identity in front of said civilians. Especially civilians who were very close to the Heart

The civilians took a slight offense at that remark. Soon enough Mallow, Lana, along with Sophocles and Kiawe started talking about how they had been very helpful and the mission couldn't have accomplished without them. Lillie even spoke up to remind them that during the mission, she hadn't been overwhelmed by all the different Pokémon.

Professor Kukui was the only one not talking and he noticed the smirk on Head Protector Eva's face or how Luca's sensory hairs where wiggling in all directions. He also had an amused expression and winked at the Professor.

There doing this on purpose! They wanted everyone to admit their mistakes or take responsibility for their actions. The two of them are also paying close attention to the rest of my class assessing them for something. But for what reason?

* * *

Luca shot an aura sphere into the air like a flair. At once everyone went silent. They had sheepish look on their faces. After all they had interrupted two important leaders.

"Now that I have your attention again, I would like to continue m speech." Once again Eva brushed a hand through her braided hair and cleaned invisible specks off her dress.

"What you have all demonstrated right here has shown me how close knit you are. Many of you have shown great maturity, responsibility, and strong sense of justice. Exactly the kind of characteristics I was looking for. Protector Trina, Heart Ash, I'm willing to give you both a second chance as long as you agree to the following conditions."

Eva raised one finger and pointed to Trina, "You need to get some psychological help. It is unhealthy and too dangerous to have an emotionally challenged Protector in the field."

Trina nodded and Professor Kukui assured the two ladies that his wife was finding a suitable psychiatrist for her. He also promised to be part of Trina support system to make sure the late teen didn't have a relapse.

That was fine by Eva, who then raised a second finger and pointed to Ash. "No more slacking off on your responsibilities. Every day, you will complete three hours of Heart Training before you are allowed to train with your Pokémon or do something fun. I will receive biweekly reports on your progress. If I find you slacking again, you are going to be taken back to Heartbond until you reach your twenty fifth birthday. Am I clear?"

Ash nodded his head furiously grateful to be having this chance. Luca also insisted that the Pokémon with him would have to join the Heart Training to create a stronger bond with their trainer. All of them quickly agreed to that, even Snivy and Heracross, despite knowing that they would be sent back to the lab soon.

That's when Eva raised a third and fourth finger. "Mallow, Lana, Lillie, along with Sophocles and Kiawe, I would like to make you Protector trainees and that Trina and Ash will teach you to become the Protectors of the Alola region. Of course, you'll be supervised by Professor Kukui."

The kids started asking questions about why she wanted them to become Protectors and their Pokémon wanted to know what that meant, when once more Luca fired an aura sphere into the air. "If you would kindly listen, my heart bonded human can explain why she is choosing to do this despite our code."

Head Protector Eva stated plainly that the Protectors were too far stretched and their numbers had taken a hit leaving a disproportional gap between age groups. A month ago they had repelled an attack by the Conquerors near their home.

They had a few casualties, but many Protectors were forced to either take early retirement or had months of healing and rehab to do. Retired Protectors had to come back to active duty, many who were not in any shape to handle the rigorous duties of being on active duty. Worse, many of their Protectors out on missions had been compromised and in the process of trying to find new ways to complete them.

They had Protectors in all regions except for Alola trying their best to carry out their duties and return home for new assignments. Eva had ordered them not to rush and complete their missions properly.

With a gap between the ages, they now had to few fully trained new Protectors and more students than normal. More importantly several of them hadn't gone through the Bonding Ceremony yet. She was not going to send out children with little training and no partner our in the world.

Luca was ashamed to admit he hadn't been able to fully protect the non-bonded Pokémon. It wasn't in his power to force mass breeding to make up the difference. Besides it would put several bonded Pokémon out of action as they raised their families.

"The Heart is in Alola and wherever the Heart goes trouble is sure to arise. Trina and Xaveria are the first of our people to make it to this far off place. Bluff mentioned his people's allies were from this region. To protect this region it is imperative we have Protectors. Can I count on you?"

The kids all agreed along with their Pokémon. Luca passed out small purple pins that they attached to their little badges to show they were in training. Luca blessed their Pokémon.

Using their combined power, Eva and Luca altered the aura of the new trainees. This was done for three reasons. One, to allow communication once more. Two, to form a shared link with their Pokémon so one could alert the other if they were in trouble. Three, hopefully one day the humans would have a chance to perform moves themselves.

The kids were excited and happy to be able to talk again with their Pokémon. They were also a little nervous, but mostly excited about their training. Ash was telling them about all sorts of things they would do.

Quietly Head Protector Eva assigned Xaveria to the task of investigating this mysterious group and gain allies to help them. She agreed that she and Leon would begin at once.

She gave back her trainee Pokémon to Eva to take home because they were needed there more. All except for Marla who refused on the grounds she found her human with Kukui. Kukui felt the same way about Marla with both sharing a strong bond. It was agreed there was no reason to separate them.

Too soon Eva, Luca, and the other Protectors had to return home. The Head Protector promised to check in from time to time to see how everyone was doing. She wished everyone luck and gave the girls a hug. Luca wished the Pokémon well and hoped that Trina's new family succeeded in their mission. Then they sailed away.

* * *

It was the next day. The school was still closed for renovations for the next week and half. The others had gone home to rest with the promise their Protector training wouldn't begin for a few days.

Xaveria was helping set up Trina's cot in the loft. They had pushed a few items back against the rail to make room for it. No more sleeping on uncomfortable couches and accidentally creating grass on the floor.

"Thanks for helping me Xaveria. With Ash and Professor Kukui out getting groceries and supplies, I needed some help with this," the late teen girl said thankfully.

The moss hair girl wiped the sweat off her face and grinned. "It's no big deal. The least I could do is make sure you're comfortable before heading out."

Trina gave her rival a knowing look. Xaveria was going to begin her investigation into the unknown ally Bluff mentioned. Her plan was to investigate all over Melemele Island before heading to Akala. With Leon by her side, Trina was completely confident they would soon have the answers they needed.

Once the cot was in position and they had properly stored Trina belongings where they belonged, it was time for Xaveria to get going. The two teens headed out back where Leon had been running the training course against Leba, Pinja, and Amelia, while the little ones cheered them all on.

Xaveria whistled loudly causing the adults Pokémon to come to a screeching halt and end up in adorable pile. "Play time is over Leon! We got move on out while the leads are fresh. Say goodbye!"

 _"Goodbye everyone. I look forward to seeing you again."_

 _"We also look forward to seeing you again. Take care and good luck,"_ Leba stated kindly.

 _"Try to not overheat out there,"_ Amelia advised the Luxray.

 _"Take down some bad guys for us okay?"_ Pinja asked.

Leon promised he would and licked the little Eevees on their heads. They all shouted their goodbyes as they due left. Within minutes they were out of sight determined to complete their new mission.

The front door opened signaling the guys were back from their grocery run. "I'm out back if you want to talk Ash!" Not waiting to see if he heard her, she got up and petted the little Eeevees. "You know you guys could run the beginner's agility course over there for fun."

 _"It does look like a lot of fun! Oh there's even a balance beam!"_ Princess Aya exclaimed in glee.

Angelo wiggled his tail and was itching to try the hurdles and Rhea had itchy feet ready to take on the fold out tunnels. The three little ones gave the adults their best adorable faces.

Amelia laughed and used one wing to embrace her son. Pinja cuddled Rhea. Both of them agreed they could run the course as long they were watching to make sure they didn't get hurt. Leba would demonstrate how it was to be run.

The teen Protector leaned against the steps as she watched the little ones be impressed by Leba's skill. They couldn't wait to give it a try. She felt someone sit down next to while a familiar Pokémon sat between them.

Ash watched the little family and smiled seeing how close they were. It was great to see how well they got along. He hoped his Pokémon family was doing okay. Snivy and Heracross would have a wild story to share with them now that they were back home in Kanto.

The two of them sat together in comfortable silence watching everyone playing. Finally Ash took a deep breath and looked at his pseudo big sister. "Are you okay?"

Trina shook her head slightly. "Not right now, the pain is still really raw and I'm still struggling to process what happened to me thanks to Bluff's interference." She took a deep breath and looked down at the ground for a minute. "It's not easy learning your parents only had you out of obligation and didn't even try to love you."

"That is seriously messed up. So all your early memories, the ones you said were twisted, is it possible they weren't? Somehow you knew unconsciously they didn't love you all?"

Trina shrugged her shoulders. "They tried, they really did. Combined with their wanderlust and preference for high stake missions, they couldn't open their hearts enough. They would often blame me for Una and Enzo getting pregnant. In a way that's true."

 _"Are you saying that Una and Enzo disapproved of their heart bonded humans actions? That they were trying to show them the joys of family?"_ Pikachu questioned. It wasn't often that heart bonded teams weren't in sync, but it did happen.

Trina shrugged her shoulders. Even if she didn't have this gift, she was certain that the two mates would have insisted on having a big family. Eevee and their evolutions loved big families. They had very much protested and disapproved their humans' actions against her.

Ash hesitantly asked if Trina knew where they were now. She replied they were in a deep cover mission in Ransei. Their job was to locate the Conquerors headquarters and brink them down from the inside. "If Eva didn't need every Protector available, she might have put my parents in prison for a time or exiled them."

"Your parents just happen to be the best long term undercover team. After an attack by the Conquerors, you need all the advantages you can get. Why do you still call them that after what they did to you?"

Trina's reply was that she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of accepting they weren't connected to her all. They shared blood, they had been a family, that she had done everything in their name. Nothing could take that away from her.

Besides she had always had another family. She indicated to her Pokémon and then Ash before spreading her arms wide open. Blood wasn't always the most important thing to being family. Love was the key and she had enough to share with anyone who wanted it.

"No matter what happens, you can be part of my family. You have been since the beginning and I was wrong to not tell you that a long time ago," Ash told her as he took off his cap to show he was repented he was.

"I should have trusted you with my feelings. We both made mistakes, but now we have something to look forward to."

The two of them leaned against each with Pikachu hugging them both. From the window Professor Kukui and Marla watched with delighted smiles on their faces. It was a good sight to see the Protector and their Heart back together.

* * *

It was finally the day the Pokémon School would reopen. Everyone was excited and couldn't wait to get back to their classrooms and lessons. Ash was looking forward to it. He wondered what he would be learning about today.

The only thing he was worried about was Trina. She would be left alone in the house again. Sure, she had her new family to keep company, but it would still be lonely without human contact. "Are you sure you're going to be okay alone?"

"Oh I'm not going to be alone today. Why don't you head off? Professor Kukui told me you guys are in for a pleasant surprise in class today."

 _"I can't wait I can't wait! I'm going to enjoy being the teacher's pet. Get it?"_ Marla said from her place near the kitchen counter. She liked being a Kanto version Meowth in Alola. It made the male Alolan version Meowths fight over her due to her "exotic" charm.

Speaking of charm, she had washed hers until it shined brightly. In fact Marla had cleaned herself up nicely and had a lovely little handkerchief wrapped around her neck to match Kukui's hat. This was Marla's normal behavior compared to her serious and stern one on a mission.

Professor Kukui came out of his bedroom and was immediately hugged by Marla. She kept telling him how excited she was about going to school and helping him out.

"Alright Marla calm down. You tend to scratch me when you're too excited. I'm glad that I'll have you helping me out," he rubbed her charm and she purred in delight. They really did make a terrific pair.

"Well, we should be going. Can't be late for school. I'm sure you're going to enjoy the class surprise," Kukui said as he winked at Trina. This puzzled Ash and his Pokémon wondering what that meant.

In the newly rebuilt classroom everyone was happy to be back in school and couldn't wait to get back to learning. Now that they could all understand Pokémon, it would make class a lot more interesting.

Marla wasted no time finding a little chair for her to sit on next to her heart bonded person's desk. She looked out at the class with bright eyes. She noticed the extra desk that had been added to the classroom wondering what that meant.

Indeed the others were wondering why they had a seventh desk when they only had six students. "Alright everyone sit down. I'm glad that we're all back to our normal routine. Now our future lessons both here and at the training course behind my home will be tough and challenging. So I decided what I needed an assistant."

He pointed to the door and to their shock Trina walked in with her bag smiling. Her new family was by her side. She stood straight and tall with a special badge attached to her shirt. They were too far away to read it. She looked pretty excited and happy to be at the school instead of the house.

Principle Oak was also standing in the doorway with a hand on her shoulder. "Hello everyone, I decided to pop in for a momentous occasion. Today the Pokémon School gets its first graduate student!"

"Graduate student? What's that?" Ash asked confused.

"A graduate student is a person whose completed most of their studies and is working on earning a selective degree. I'm going to be helping teach the class part time. The other half I'll be doing my own project, learning all I can about these two "new" remarkable evolutions here: Avieon and Pebbleon."

By her feet the two mentioned Pokémon struck poses and showed off their unique features. The little ones also showed of their bodies and personalities until Leba reigned them in. "Since I'm the one who "discovered" these two new forms I'm completely in charge of studying them, of course I would love the help from Kukui's top students for help."

The others quickly caught on to what was going on. This was the solution to Trina's need to be with human companions to help her overcome her depression. At the same time, they would be able to slip in some Protector practice, while also helping the evolutions and Eevees learn about the mainland.

"I'm sure you'll fit just fine in this group Ms. Chrysalis. Now I have to get back to finishing your paperwork. Have a good day." He laughed loudly and left with a smile on his face.

"Surprise! Told you I wouldn't be alone. Now shall we begin?" Trina said taking her seat. Today she would be observing and tomorrow she would be helping teach the class.

The morning class went by fast as Professor Kukui showed them samples of the different Z-crystals as well as newly discovered ones that only a specific Pokémon with a specific move, which was very different than the regular crystals.

"These unique crystals such as Trina's own Eevium is the equivalent of a Mega Stone such as Lucarionite. With these unique crystals and stones scientists are trying to determine what unique qualities these Pokémon have that would make them special enough to have their own stone or crystal."

 _"As of today, scientist have still not been able to isolate the reasons. So far only one fact has been established scientifically. The unique bond between Pokémon and humans is what activates both the stones and crystals,"_ Marla added. Just as she finished speaking the bell rang. It was time for a break.

* * *

Normally everyone would be training their Pokémon or playing games. Some of the younger students were doing that while the older students helped with setting up the Open House again.

Trina and her family were working on making a banner to hang up in town to let everyone know the new time and date for the event. "Alright, I suggest that we make a very unique banner that sure to catch everyone's attention. So what color do you want it to be?"

 _"Can we make the banner the same color of Tapu Koko? Everyone pays close attention when he's around,"_ Princess Aya commented shyly.

"That's a good idea Princess Aya. Excuse me Aya. So what should our base color be?"

 _"We could paint it mostly orange, with the corners being yellow. The writing would have to be black to stand out against the bright colors. Maybe we can even paint, what did you call the letters?"_ Rhea responded only to end up a little frustrated.

 _"I believe the term is bubble letters my niece. Is that right?_ Pinja asked tilting her head.

Leba nodded as she tugged out letter stencils from Trina's pack as her heart bonded human showed the Eevees to hold the paint brush in their mouth and slowly paint the letters while breathing through their noses.

Amelia helped her son Angelo by holding down the stencil so it didn't move while he painted the letters. He was repeatedly getting his fur stained black when the brush dripped paint.

 _"Try being a little neater son. We don't want the sign to be unreadable. Not to mention I know how much you hate baths."_

 _"Yes Mom."_

Everyone cheered when the banner was done and dry. The little family caused a bit of a stir when they hung the banner in the food market. Everyone was trying to get a glimpse of the two new Pokémon wondering what they were and were they the evolved form of a known Pokémon.

"Excuse me, I have to ask all of you to please stop staring. You're making my friends Amelia and Pinja nervous. If you want to meet them and learn more come to the Pokémon School Open House in a few days. Until then, please kindly remain quiet about this until then, thank you."

Her little family thanked her as they headed back to the school. Who knew what the afternoon classes would be. Also, she was getting thrilled by the idea of getting her classmates whipped into shape with their first Protector training exercises soon.

* * *

Needless to say the Open House event went off without a hitch once Rotom Dex was removed from the classroom by Marla, for trying to give Ash's speech for him. He spoke with confidence and pride once he was able to get over his nerves.

The most exciting thing to happen that day was when Delia, Ash, and Trina had sent Team Skull kids flying after disturbing the Open House and ruining the new flower garden. It was always a treat to see Delia battle because it showed where Ash got his spirit from.

After the Open House the class had returned home with Ash and Trina to start their first training session. The adults sat on the back steps to watch. Trina had switched into her Protector workout clothes and made sure everyone else was wearing them, even going so far to force a shirt on Kiawe, telling him he would need it for later.

"Alright, listen up trainees and Heart. I have been tasked with turning this class from trainers to Protectors of the Alola region. If we're going to keep this region safe and assist the Tapus' then you better be ready to react in an instant!"

She walked down the line of the assembled trainees inspecting each of them and their Pokémon. Her own little family looked ready to handle everything. "I'm pleased to see most of you are in good shape. There is always room for improvement though. I want you all to start stretching your muscles out. Now!"

Trina watched them carefully as they stretched to make sure they didn't overdo it. She had to correct Sophocles a few times so he wouldn't hurt himself. He was going to be the hardest to whip into shape.

"Now that you're all done stretching it's time to get your heart pumping. Leba! I want you to take the Pokémon and get them started on their warm up run."

 _"Will do! Everyone follow me, we constructed a special running course for all sizes of Pokémon and their speed stats. Turtanator, you'll be running as well, but don't worry, we've taken into account that speed is your best category."_

 _"Thank you for being so thoughtful. I will do my best to improve even a little bit."_

Trina whistled to get the attention of the humans. "Alright, you're all going to start with an easy run. I want you to run one mile around the track. That's a total of five times around. Don't push yourself beyond what you are capable of. Just do your best. Now go!"

It was hard not to be amused by watching the others run the track. Ash staying in the back to help keep Sophocles on his feet. The others had settled into a pace that worked for them. Even Lillie was doing well and remembered to keep hydrated.

Delia walked over and placed her hands on Trina's shoulders and smiled at her. "You're a remarkable person Trina. If you can handle all the trouble Ash gets into, I have no doubt you'll be a fine teacher. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Delia that makes me really happy. However, what gives me real joy is being part of yours and Ash's family. The future is finally looking up," Trina replied knowing that it could only get better from here on out.


End file.
